Elmhurst Challenge: Spend $25 Weekly On Takeout

ELMHURST, IL — A local Facebook group challenges its members to spend $25 a week on takeout at Elmhurst restaurants.

Organizers say this is good for the community in a number of ways — saving jobs, preventing vacant storefronts, boosting morale, adding to the tax base.

The "TakeOut 25-Elmhurst" Facebook page launched 2½ weeks ago, drawing 1,900 members. People are sharing photos of what they're ordering from Elmhurst restaurants, which cannot offer indoor dining under the governor's order.

The page's administrator is Paula Pezza of Pezza Realty, and the moderator is Frank De Carlo of De Carlo Construction.

Last month, De Carlo found out about the "Takeout 25 Oak Park" page, which has the same goal. It now has more than 6,000 members.

"That Oak Park page resonated with me," De Carlo said in an interview.

So he approached Pezza about starting a similar page. She agreed with the idea. Their goal is to get 5,000 members.

"The response of the people in Elmhurst has been beyond our expectations," De Carlo said. "Paula, to her credit, has kept her nose to the grindstone."

Asked why the group drew so many members so quickly, Pezza said many people found the challenge fun.

"From what I've been seeing and hearing, people truly do care about keeping our local businesses running," she said. "It's overwhelmingly positive."

De Carlo said his work in construction and home inspections is considered essential, so his businesses have not been shut down. But he said he has learned a lot from his friends who own restaurants.

"I don't think people understand the depth of despair they're going through," he said.

The new Facebook page appears to be having an effect.

"Even when we had 1,500 members, restaurants were already seeing an uptick in their businesses. Imagine if we have 5,000, we could really help the restaurants," De Carlo said.

On Tuesday, the recently opened Pasta Bowl Express, 926 N. York St., thanked the administrators of the TakeOut 25-Elmhurst and Elmhurst, IL News and Comment Facebook pages.

"The weekend was record-breaking for us. We did not expect for there to be lines out the door!" the restaurant said in a post on TakeOut 25-Elmhurst. "We apologize for the long wait in line, long wait on our phone, and long wait on the UberEats and Door Dash platforms."

The restaurant said it wanted to be completely transparent and say it was not prepared for the high demand.

"If we fell short on your first experience with us, we apologize and would love to welcome you back soon," the restaurant said.