This Website Wants to Save Restaurants by Featuring Their Merch

By Sarah Semple

Earlier last month, we reported on how restaurants and bars are offering alternative options like take-out and branded merch to generate cash while their physical locations remain closed. Fast forward to today, and the New York Times published an article covering the news of a new website that's aggregating merch from more than 20 restaurants, allowing people to find it and buy it all in one place.

The website, Care of Chan, a “food culture agency” started in 2016, has a Save Restaurants collection section, which, now more than ever, is a great resource for customers to support their favorite dining establishments. The website directs customers to the restaurants’ websites, according to the New York Times article.

From the Care of Chan and Save Resturants “about us” page:

There are countless ways we can support our favorite spots while we wait for them to reopen and share their food with us once again. You can sign petitions advocating for industry and workers rights, you can donate to restaurant crowd-sourcing efforts, you can order take-out from your neighborhood restaurants and pick-up from your local wine store.

Another great way to support small restaurants is to purchase their merchandise, cookbooks, and gift cards, which can be used when they return to full service. We’ve made that one easy for you with a curated selection of goodies from our favorite spots. A little goes a long way in these times. All purchasing is done directly through the restaurant, which means they make 100 percent of the profits. (Yes, this also means you’ll have to enter your credit card for each individual site. It’s only a slight inconvenience for a good cause, and hey, while you’re at it, throw another item into that cart!)

Having a bunch of different restaurants all in one place—instead of numerous websites—is super helpful and can be a reminder to shoppers of places they might have tried once before or have wanted to try but weren't able to. It's also nice to see it featured in a publication as big as the New York Times.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B-fCTm-Dggi/

Here's a look at four items from the online shop (click the item names to view each one):

1. Katz’s Mug

You don’t need to be from New York to know what Katz’s Deli is. The online shop features six items, but the mug is definitely our favorite. Sipping your morning coffee or tea out of this Katz’s Delicatessen mug is guaranteed to make your drink 10 times better.

2. Helen’s Wine T-shirt

We’re big fans of graphic T-shirts. This Helen’s Wine T-shirt features the Helen’s text in a hot pink color on the chest, along with a list of different types of wine like merlot, pinot noir, chardonnay and more on the back.

3. Mission Chinese Food Long Sleeve Shirt by Danny Bowien and Justin Hager

Being based in Philadelphia, we aren’t too familiar with Mission Chinese Food. But this long-sleeve tee is very cool. The black shirt features flames on both arms with the Mission Chinese Food logo on the front.

4. Dimes Candle

Candles are the perfect addition to a home work area. This one from Dimes features “notes of cedar leaf, wood chips and neroli,” which sounds relaxing. There’s also a cookbook, gift card and pepper mill available for purchase.