DELRAY BEACH, Fla. — A Facebook group was created last year to help support South Florida restaurants during the COVID-19 shutdowns.
One year later, creator John Brewer said the group is still helping.
Brewer said he created the "Socially Distanced Supper Club" in Delray Beach one week after St. Patrick's Day.
He said they started with a "flash mob" mentality to help plan a day when people would go order to-go at a certain restaurant.
"J&J Seafood went from doing like five dinners to 65 the first time, and we're like, 'OK, we we're onto something here,'" Brewer said.
The idea quickly spread to other cities, from local supper clubs being created in Boca Raton and Orlando to supper clubs being created in California and New York.
Brewer, who still works a day job, said the supper club has turned into the best part of his life.
The owner of Caesar's Jerk and Famous Ribs in Delray Beach said he connected with Brewer last spring and got a shoutout on the Facebook page.
"Our business went through the roof the next week," Bill Caeser said.
Ceasar said they had just opened their brick-and-mortar location when shutdowns started, and the supper club has helped him stay open the last year.
Brewer said they have more than 16,000 members in the Delray Beach supper club, and his next goal is to build an app that can be used by all the members has better help the restaurants.
He adds the best part about the supper club has been the community and the support for South Florida businesses.
"We were kind of this hub that kind of brought everybody together," Brewer said.