Off-Strip restaurant begins delivery amid slowdown

The customers haven’t been coming to Shiraz Persian, Indian and Pakistani restaurant, so Shiraz is going to the customers.

“In recent weeks with the coronavirus scare, people have been thinking about not going out,” said Jainine Jaffer, executive chef of the restaurant at 2575 S. Decatur Blvd. “We’ve definitely felt it.” She said business has been down as much as 50 to 60 percent at lunch and dinner.

“It hurts,” Jaffer said.

In response, the staff and partners decided to offer delivery.

“My main focus has always been our customers, but the opportunities are not always there to dine out,” she said. “I thought it would be a natural thing to transfer that to in-house delivery service.”

Offering delivery is one way to keep employees working, she said, and everybody’s pitching in, including her and her partners.

“Whoever has a car, we’ve just kind of banded together and said whatever we need to do, we’ll do it,” she said. “It sure beats standing around twirling your thumbs, waiting for somebody to walk in the door.”

She said Shiraz may be hurting more than some suburban restaurants in that it tends to get a lot of convention trade because it offers halal food and is relatively close to the Strip. But she said she sees widespread effects.

“I was in L.A. this weekend, and the freeways were dead,” she said. “It was insane.”

The restaurant’s management also is ramping up sanitary procedures, wiping surfaces more frequently and reminding staff to wash their hands and use sanitizer more frequently.

“We’ve always been a little bit more on health and safety measures, especially since we’re a USDA kitchen (because they sell to Strip properties), so we have an extra standard to uphold,” Jaffer said. “But you can never be too careful.”

Delivery, which is free within a 5-mile radius and $10 elsewhere, is being offered from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and 5 to 10 p.m. Visit shirazrestaurant.com or call 702-870-0860.

Contact Heidi Knapp Rinella at Hrinella@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0474. Follow @HKRinella on Twitter.