Getting take-out this weekend? Two new maps help you find and support local restaurants

More take-out windows are open across Prague during the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a report in ČTK.

Two days after restaurants were told to close, there were 15 percent more take-out windows open than in the spring, according to an analysis by EdenRed, an employee benefits card that runs the Ticket Restaurant system.

"Overall, the volume of lunches via meal vouchers in the first days of the second lockdown is about three times better than in the first, but the situation for restaurants after such a weak year is borderline to liquidation, so optimism is out of place," Edenred's head of innovation and marketing, Jakub Ryba, told ČTK. 

EdenRed has also mapped out a list of take-out windows in Prague where card holders can use their benefits -- or simply pick up food to go. Since they first launched the platform, more than 400 restaurants have added their windows to the list. That makes a total of more than 1,100 restaurants on the search engine.

Each restaurant's situation is individual, said Stéphane Nicoletti, CEO of Up ČR, a benefits company in the Czech Republic. That's why the company gives ten crowns to each restaurant owner for every 100 crowns used in their restaurant through eStravenka.

They expect people will continue to use their benefits at take-out windows.

"In addition to a decrease in total spending, however, an average spending can be expected in the coming days," Nicoletti said. "For example, for two working days at once."

For many restaurants, the hidden costs of using delivery eats into their profits: some delivery services take a 30 or 40 percent cut. In response, platforms like Moje Okenko offer restaurants a cheaper way to do operate by listing their business on the service's take-out window map for a small fee.

Customers can then order directly from the restaurant, ensuring their favorite local food seller doesn't lose profits to third-party delivery services. (Order by choosing a restaurant on the map; food will then be delivered by the restaurant or prepared for pick up.)

Since restaurants have been forced to close, restaurant owners have called on delivery services to better support the industry and lower their fees, according to a report in iDnes.