Libby Allnatt | [email protected]

As Utahns adjust to social distancing guidelines, local restaurants of South Jordan are adapting as well, including a fine-dining establishment that transitioned to all take-out.

“It’s been an evolving kind of process,” said Valerie Rose, owner of The Wild Rose in The District, of the transition.

She said not having patrons in the restaurant has been one of the biggest challenges of not having dine-in service.

“We miss them. We miss the energy,” she said.

She said The Wild Rose, which has been open since 2010, has mostly been getting regular customers for take-out. Changes to operations include online ordering, fewer open hours (the restaurant is open for takeout from 5 to 8 p.m.), and new menu items, including a French dip sandwich that Rose said has been a popular dish that they plan to keep on the menu.

The restaurant was initially open for take-out for lunch as well, but Rose said those hours were quiet.

“It became clear pretty quickly that wasn’t going to sustain things very well as far as the traffic during the day,” she said. “I think that was more to do with so many businesses closing and working remotely. I just don’t think people were out.”

In March, restaurants and bars in the state were ordered to suspend all dine-in service in order to help slow the spread of COVID-19.

A website called Curbside Utah has also emerged to help Utahns find eating establishments that are open by location. In addition, residents can check the website or social media pages for many of their favorite restaurants to get more information on their procedures and ordering options.

Rose said it’s important for residents to support local businesses during these uncertain times.

“The main reason is if we don’t get the support right now, a lot of [restaurants] won’t be here when this is over,” she said. “And that’s really what it comes down to.”

She said local restaurants often operate on slim budgets and lack the financial backing of a larger chain. Businesses also need to be able to support their employees, she said.

“We are trying really hard to keep our staff because we’re going to need them when we come back,” she said. “We need to be able to support them through this, so we have a start when we are able to open back up.”

She said The Wild Rose used to have three to five people working in the kitchen, while now they have one or two.

Purchasing food via take-out, curbside service and drive-thrus are all ways that residents can follow social distancing guidelines while still supporting businesses.

“We really do have a great community around here,” Rose said. “People are so supportive.”