BirdHouse offers takeout to stem coronavirus

Those who are out of a job or on furlough because of the coronavirus will get a 25 percent discount on their meals when they eat at BirdHouse.

Posted
By Krista Allen
Lake Powell Chronicle

PAGE – BirdHouse on North Navajo Drive has shuttered for dine-in business, but the restaurant is allowing for takeout and offering a 25 percent discount to those who have lost work due to novel coronavirus concerns.

The measure is aimed at slowing the spread of COVID-19, said BirdHouse Owner Edward Chu, in an interview on Sunday evening.

“We want to offer a little bit more to people who are more in need,” Chu said. “With the news going around, grocery stores are limited in what they can sell and whatnot. We wanted to give everyone an opportunity to still eat good food and hopefully, at a reasonable price that are affordable.”

Page Unified School District schools and Lake Powell Tribal Park, which includes several tour operators such as Ken’s Tours and Dixie Ellis’ Lower Antelope Canyon Tours, have closed in the face of a COVID-19 heath crisis and mounting government regulations.

“For us, it’s one of those things whereas a restaurant, as a place of service, we’re doing whatever we can to minimize or to mitigate any outside issues that occur,” Chu explained. “Our first goal is always customer service and how we can represent that on a normal day, on a busy day, on a crazy day, on a day like this (when) there’s a lot of things going on.”

Chu said BirdHouse is going to continue opening its doors to allow people to eat food – chicken – they deserve and want, despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

“And still provide a service to them,” Chu said. “That means do whatever we can to clean up as much as possible, disinfecting whatever we have.

“We’ve always had sanitation for hands all over our dining room ever since we opened (in March 2018). We’ve always had Wet-Nap (pre-moistened wipes), things around us, even before this happened.”

Chu said restaurant cleanliness and quality service are the top two priorities when it comes to running his restaurant so that customers who visit his establishment are in safe hands.

“So that you don’t have to worry about coming to our restaurant and understanding that there might be a chance for (you) to get sick,” Chu said. “We’re always trying to … give the best service without sacrificing anything else. So, we figured, we will continue opening our doors for anyone who comes.”

Chu said he understands many people may experience coronavirus-related layoffs, causing people to stay home and spend less. To relieve the strain COVID-19 is causing, Chu said those who are out of a job or on furlough because of the coronavirus will get a 25 percent discount on their meals when they eat at BirdHouse.  

“At this time, we need to grow as a community and not alienate each other––to help the community is what I’m trying to do,” Chu explained, adding that locals get a 10 percent discount when they order a meal. “As for right now, with the peak season, everyone in school is on spring break. And Lake Powell is one of the towns that expands in capacity when spring break happens.”

But that’s not what he’s seeing around Page, said Chu.

“If you look around town, it’s completely empty,” he said. “Most of our clientele are local. We don’t want to force those locals away because of what’s going on.

Chu said BirdHouse and his employees use a lot of single-use items, meaning if one person uses it, it will be thrown away to minimize spreading of germs and bacteria.

“And we’re always sanitizing our (work) stations, making sure all of our employees are on the highest end of the hygiene and making sure they’re cleaning up after themselves and (always) wearing gloves,” Chu added. “Every night, we’re disinfecting the whole area. Even though we don’t have anybody dining in, people are standing there, putting their hands on the walls and whatnot. So, we’re making sure to go through every little spot that we can get to, to disinfect.

“At the same time, we don’t want to just close our door and stop serving.”

BirdHouse’s top seller is “The Best” Chicken Sandwich for $7.

BirdHouse is currently celebrating its second anniversary at 707 N. Navajo Dr. BirdHouse welcomes all people to eat there, which was the idea before this business started, said Chu.

“That’s why we concentrate so much on our service and hospitality being a priority,” Chu added. “Fortunately, we also serve good food. So, that’s a plus. But the whole idea was to create another sphere that’s inviting (that) feels like home where people can enjoy themselves and enjoy some good food as well.”

BirdHouse is limited to only takeout and people are asked to call to order before picking up.

Information: birdhouseaz.com or call, 928-645-4087