Here at Blue Plate Bistro in Avon, Colorado, the snow is melting and the kitchen is humming. We’re cranking out delicious dishes five days a week for curbside pickup and delivery
But we’re also hard at work making an important resource in these troubled times: face masks.
Blue Plate Co-owner Elli Roustom decided to make the masks in the restaurant’s dining room. It’s closed right now anyway for the safety of our customers and staff.
Elli pulled a few tables together, grabbed a sewing machine, and started cranking out masks. After all, they’re in short supply right now.
“We have to help the locals,” as she wrote on Blue Plate’s Facebook page.
She knew she couldn’t produce the N95 masks reserved for health care professionals. But she could still gather together enough basic materials and start making masks that work for non-medical use.
Elli also decided to get the word out about them using Blue Plate’s social media. In a series of Facebook posts, she let people know that she was producing masks, in her words “like crazy.”
As always, she applied her insatiable sense of humor to the process. In one post, she jokingly referred to the project as “sweatshop Blue Plate.” Then she put out a request to direct message her if anyone wanted a mask at no charge.
In typical Elli Roustom form, the masks are colorful and vibrant. She describes them as “super comfortable with a tissue pouch and nose clip.”
The response to Elli’s efforts has been fantastic. Some of the comments on Blue Plate’s Facebook page include:
“Nice job!! Thank you.”
And:
“I am so proud of you and your efforts and humor and nourishing food through this trying time!”
The mask-making project is another example of Elli and Chef Adam supporting their community by providing good food and much-needed supplies.
