BUCKHANNON – The City of Buckhannon is offering to mark spaces for Main Street restaurants as 10-minute parking for takeout.

The city sent out a statement Wednesday saying these spaces will give restaurants and customers an efficient and quick way to pick up carryout orders.

“The City hopes that enjoying a meal from a favorite local restaurant, even if it must be taken elsewhere, will be a nice comfort for our citizens while we all work together to limit the spread of COVID-19,” the statement said.

Mayor David McCauley said the city wanted to help local businesses during this time.

“We think some of these restaurants could be very compromised if they were to close over the long haul, and we thought we could help rally the community around them for takeout purposes,” McCauley said. “The easier we can make it on people trying to get in and out as quickly as possible, without exposure.”

McCauley said there are currently six takeout parking spaces on Main Street in front of Mama Romas, Fish Hawk Acres, Stone Tower Brews, China Wok, Dairy Queen and Sweet-A-Licious.

“The City recognizes that local restaurants and businesses anticipate fewer customers during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the City wishes to assist as they make changes to adapt to the rapidly changing business environment,” the statement said.

The spaces will stay in effect as long as the state of emergency is ongoing, and McCauley said he expects that to last at least two to four weeks. However, the city will extend the 10-minute parking beyond that if necessary.

“I think it’s also an opportunity to send the message to the rest of our community that we don’t want our economy to downturn any more than what it inevitably will, if we can continue to support these businesses and the people that work for them,” McCauley said.

If your business would like to request a 10-minute-only parking space in front of your shop or restaurant, please call 304-472-1651 and speak with Ammie Garman.