Local initiative to offer a boost to local restaurants

On Wednesday, Oct. 14, a press conference was held to launch Tioga County’s latest initiative, Tioga To-Go, a campaign to promote carry-out, delivery, curbside pick-up and online ordering offered by county restaurants.

The initiative, which is a joint effort between Tioga County Tourism and the Tioga County Chamber of Commerce, was put in place to help keep restaurants thriving during the pandemic, and as the weather begins to turn cold.

“With indoor dining capacity still restricted and colder temperatures limiting outdoor dining, Tioga County restaurants have been strengthening their take-out options,” said Legislative Chairwoman Martha Sauerbrey, who attended the event on Wednesday morning at the Gateway Building’s deck in Owego.

With over 50 restaurants in Tioga County offering takeout, the Chamber’s President and CEO, Andrew Hafer, was excited and ready to launch the initiative. 

“For a small county, we have a surprising number of restaurants with a variety of delicious food to choose from,” said Hafer.

Sally Yablonsky, operations director for the Tioga County Chamber of Commerce, was also present at Wednesday’s launch of Tioga To-Go, and said the timing couldn’t be better for the project’s launch.

Yablonsky’s mother was Broome County’s second COVID fatality back in the spring, and at the onset of the pandemic. After her mother’s death, Yablonsky stayed home and didn’t venture outside of her home for quite some time.

Now, Yablonsky is doing her part to help others through various personal and professional projects, such as this one.

“We wanted to celebrate Restaurant Week,” said Yablonsky, “and my son, Joe, actually came up with the name.”

With a website located at Tiogatogo.com, residents can browse the site and view the restaurants and what they are offering. 

“Tiogatogo.com is the one stop spot to figure out what’s for breakfast, lunch or dinner,” said Rebecca Maffei, director of Tioga County Tourism. 

It’s simple. At tiogtogo.com, you can search by different towns and villages around the county to view menus, and go directly to restaurant Facebook pages to see what their daily specials are.

“We wanted to make it easy for people in our community to find online menus and look for new places to try around the county,” Maffei added. 

“Although it’s not a night in, it’s a night out,” said Hafer of ordering take out, and of the new program that will support area restaurants.

And with the recent spike in COVID cases in the county, the timing couldn’t be better.

“Getting take-out is a great way to treat yourself and your family while safely supporting local businesses,” added Sauerbrey.