Introduction

—From Zingerman’s Community of Businesses Statement of Service for the Covid Crisis, March 24, 2020, written by Mo Frechette, Zingerman’s Mail Order Managing Partner

This book was born from our experience during the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic that began for us officially on March 16, 2020, when the state of Michigan mandated the first closing of restaurants in our communities. I imagine that the first shutdown orders included other venues, but my focus, being partners with restaurant owners and serving restaurants, was on food businesses and how the pandemic could change us and even threaten our survival. It was the beginning of our lives being turned, churned, spun, and tossed in many directions.