Schools and unessential businesses are closed, restaurants and bars are not allowed to serve dine-in customers, many are telecommuting and fewer people are on the road. But 24 cars packed the parking lot of Tavern on the Green Thursday for bingo night.

Coronavirus-inspired music blared from speakers and car radios. Some people sat in their trunks and ate take-out food from the restaurant at the Eagle Ridge golf course in Raleigh near Garner. Bingo players crossed out numbers on their scorecards as some sat in lawn chairs and formed groups that were socially distanced.

“We’re hugging from over here,” one woman said, waving her arms about eight feet from another woman.

On March 17, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper issued a mandate closing all bars and restaurants except for take-out and delivery by 5 p.m. that day. As of Friday, the state had more than 150 cases of the coronavirus and there were more than 25 in Wake County.

Those who run restaurants, like Tavern on the Green’s Rocco Sammartino Jr., have had to get creative to keep their customers coming back and their employees employed.

We’re trying to get you guys out of the house and keep you safe at the same time,” Sammartino told the N&O. “We’re taking all the right precautions.”

On Thursday night, cars were parked in a zig-zag fashion to maintain the six feet separation recommended by the CDC for social distancing. Food orders were taken by text and all bingo material, including crayons and paper, was disposable.

The prizes for bingo included vouchers for local restaurants as a way to promote them. If anyone got bingo, they honked from their cars.

Bingo helps support employees, relieves boredom

Locals from around the Eagle Ridge neighborhood were looking for a change of scenery from being stuck inside their homes and were at bingo to support a local business.

Dena McDonald brought her own lawn chair and was sitting with three other people. She had to close her Garner day spa business because of social distancing guidelines.

“We want to help another small business owner,” McDonald, owner of Alossi Renewal Spa said. “People are trying to be upbeat and still be safe.”

She is trying to sell skincare products now that running the day spa is not possible. “Everyone is trying to be creative,” she said.

Joe Lelonek said the last time he went out for a social activity was the last Catholic mass before social distancing began.

“I like that we are not close to anybody,” Lelonek said. “If they can do it, no sense in shutting it down!”

Heather Warzon brought her two children to bingo. One was playing a board game in the trunk of the car while the other was entertaining himself on a phone.

“We splurged tonight to support a local business,” she said. “It’s a good way to get the kids out of the house and have more bonding time with the family.”

People like Kevin Cobb, the cook at Tavern on the Green, benefit the most from Sammartino’s kind of creativity and initiative because it means he remains employed.

“It ensures that I pay my bills,” he said. It has been different because the menu is scaled down and there are only two people in the kitchen.

“Our main focus is to keep people employed,” Sammartino said. “It means that my employees have money to put food on the table for their families.”

This story was originally published March 20, 2020 at 1:16 PM.