When the governor ordered all New Hampshire restaurants to close indefinitely last week in order to stop the spread of COVID-19 coronavirus, thousands of restaurant servers were left without work.
This included Ryan Hoiriis, 20, of Peterborough who lost his job at Cooper’s Hill Public House in Peterborough where he had been working as a waiter. Instead of waiting for the order to be lifted, he decided to start a delivery service.
“I’m doing this on my own volition,” Hoiriis said Saturday.
He has offered to do deliveries for Cooper’s as well as any downtown merchants for a $5 charge and any tips. He said it has gotten off to a slow start and he has only made about $15 a day, but he added, he’s not doing it for the money. While he is the dad of a one-year-old, Hoiriis said, he has some savings and is not worried about being able to take care of his family right now. He said he is doing this to help people stay home if they want or need to during this time.
So far Cooper’s, Steele’s Stationers, Toadstool Bookshop, Maggie’s Marketplace and Roy’s Market have taken him up on his services.
Peter Robinson, owner of Roy’s Market, said he and some other downtown merchants decided to work together and batch their deliveries to save shoppers money. So you can order from the different merchants and only pay a $5 fee for that one delivery from multiple merchants.
“He’s doing a great job. Customers really appreciate it,” Robinson said Saturday.
Robinson said his experience gained in the 2008 ice storm prepared him for the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The ice storm was my practice run and I learned so much from that. I have a full store. I am absolutely out of nothing,” Robinson said.
Right now orders may be called in between 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. for same-day delivery.
Orders can be taken at any time for next day delivery. Payment will be taken over the phone via credit/debit card.
Orders will go out around 1 p.m.
Roy’s Market: (603) 924-3101
Maggie’s Market: (603) 924-7671
Steele’s Stationers:
Pickup is available anytime from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday. All orders need to be paid for in advance.
Cooper’s Hill Public House
Visit coopershillpublichouse.com for daily menus and take-out or delivery details. Take-out is available 5 to 9 p.m. and delivery is available in Peterborough from 5 to 8 p.m.