By Ashley M. Casey

Associate Editor

Under normal circumstances, employees of Moe’s Southwest Grill greet customers with a cheer of “Welcome to Moe’s!” as they bustle around assembling burritos, quesadillas and salads. But during the coronavirus pandemic, circumstances are anything but normal. With restaurants closed to dine-in traffic, there are far fewer customers to welcome.

Despite this, Moe’s employees across Upstate New York and northern Pennsylvania are still hard at work. Five Moe’s franchise locations, including the one in DeWitt, are donating burrito boxes to hospitals and first responders.

“In times like this, it is a privilege and honor to be able to offer some form of comfort and give back to those who have been working on the front lines to help keep this pandemic at bay. We thank the hospital workers, doctors and nurses as well as the first responders that are keeping our communities safe during this crisis,” said Larry Wilson, franchise owner at Moe’s Southwest Grill.

Jordan Wilson, marketing director and assistant to the district manager for Moe’s Southwest Grill of NY and PA, said the franchise wanted to give back to the communities that have supported Moe’s.

“We just thought it was such a great idea to help the first responders who are taking care of our friends and family. Everyone is affected by this,” she said.

Last week, the New Hartford Moe’s delivered meals to St. Luke’s in Utica on April 14 and the Vestal location delivered boxes to UHS Wilson Medical Center in Johnson City on April 16. The Wilkes-Barre franchise was set to deliver meals to the VA Hospital on April 21 and the DeWitt location will drop off burrito boxes at Upstate Medical University on April 23.

Each box contains a burrito, cookie, salsa and tortilla chips. Moe’s is delivering 150 boxes to each location. Wilson estimated each batch of donations is worth between $1,300 and $1,400.

So far, Wilson said, none of the 15 Moe’s locations in Upstate New York or northern Pennsylvania has been directly affected by COVID-19.

“It’s been a miracle, to be honest,” she said.

Wilson said the Moe’s team is rallying despite the challenges the pandemic has brought to businesses.

“I think it’s been a little stressful on the employees. We’ve had some amazing employees step up during this time take more hours and rearrange their schedules,” she said. “Every single one of our employees we value and cherish.”