Since bars and restaurants are temporarily banned from providing dine-in service across the St. Louis region, many businesses are scrambling to adjust to a rapidly changing environment in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
In response, Christina Weaver and Megan Rohall of the Women’s Creative, an entrepreneurial collective, and Jordan Bauer of the Instagram account STLouisGram and the St. Louis guide and coupon book Experience Booklet joined forces to create a Facebook group called #314Together to bring local business and customers together again.
In just two weeks, #314Together has garnered more than 9,000 members. The group has become a hub for small businesses around the St. Louis region to sell goods to customers, or help others in this time of struggle and uncertainty.
On Friday’s St. Louis on the Air, Weaver and Bauer joined host Sarah Fenske to talk about the group and its formation.
Weaver said she wanted to “create a conversation” for local businesses and people around the St. Louis area. That began as a way for local bars and restaurants to sell gift cards, but Weaver said many businesses began to take the opportunity to advertise curbside pickup orders once the coronavirus outbreak started to spread.
“There’s a lot of fear and anxiety, and no one knew what was happening,” Bauer said. “Everything was changing by the minute, and everyone needed a centralized hub of communication. And [#314Together] became that.”
The group’s success in St. Louis has led to it being modeled in other cities. Weaver said they hope to kickstart the Together Movement with similar efforts in other cities around North America.
Listen to the full conversation:
“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is hosted by Sarah Fenske and produced by Alex Heuer, Emily Woodbury, Evie Hemphill, Lara Hamdan and Joshua Phelps. The engineer is Aaron Doerr, and production assistance is provided by Charlie McDonald.
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