When the summer tourism season appeared to be disappearing from COVID-19 restrictions, Roll E-Bike owner Claire Attkisson decided to turn her fleet of rental bikes into a food-delivery service.
WHEN YOU HAVE A FLEET OF ELECTRIC BIKES THAT YOU RENT TO TOURISTS, WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOUR MARKET DRIES UP? IF YOU'RE CLAIRE ATTKISSON, YOU BECOME THE GREEN EQUIVALENT OF A GRUB HUB. YOU'RE WATCHING THE LOCAL NEWS NETWORK, BROUGHT TO YOU BY DURANGO ELECTRICAL SERVICES. I'M WENDY GRAHAM SETTLE. CLAIRE ATTKISSON IS THE OWNER OF ROLL E-BIKES, AN ELECTRIC-BIKE RENTAL COMPANY THAT DELIVERS RENTALS TO CUSTOMERS. SHE RELIES HEAVILY ON THE TOURISM MARKET FOR HER INCOME, SO WHEN THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC HIT, SHE KNEW HER CUSTOMER BASE WAS GOING TO DISAPPEAR FOR THE SUMMER. BUT FAR FROM BEING INTIMIDATED BY THE SITUATION, SHE DECIDED TO USE HER FLEET OF BICYCLES TO START A NEW, ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY MEAL-DELIVERY SERVICE.
BUT IT REALLY CAME OUT OF KIND OF A BIG COLLECTIVE CONVERSATION THAT DURANGO WAS HAVING. AS SOON AS THE COVID CRISIS HIT, ABOUT HOW DO WE SUPPORT LOCAL RESTAURANTS, HOW DO WE SUPPORT LOCAL FARMERS AND LOCAL BUSINESSES? AND I KIND OF FELT THE WRITING ON THE WALL THAT I WASN'T SURE IF I WAS GOING TO SEE ANY OF OUR TOURISTS COME BACK. CERTAINLY NOT IN THE NUMBERS THAT REALLY IS REQUIRED OF MY ROLL, THE BIKE RENTAL BUSINESS. SO I STARTED TO THINK ABOUT, WELL, HOW CAN I SUPPORT THE RESTAURANTS, THE LOCAL BUSINESSES AND OUR FARMS? WHAT CAN ROLL E-BIKES DO? AND I THOUGHT, WELL, WE COULD PIVOT AND WE COULD FIGURE OUT A WAY TO DELIVER THE FOOD DIRECTLY TO PEOPLE. ATTKISSON ALSO OWNS LIVE CREATIVE STUDIO, A MARKETING FIRM THAT HELPS BUSINESSES ADOPT SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES AND FINDS CUSTOMERS WHO WANT TO SUPPORT THEM BECAUSE OF THE WAY THEY OPERATE. AND ATTKISSON PRACTICES WHAT SHE PREACHES. HER E-BIKES ARE SOLAR-POWERED, AND SHE'S FOCUSED ON INTRODUCING CUSTOMERS TO LOCALLY PRODUCED FOOD AND PRODUCTS. EVERY MONDAY, ATTKISSON'S BICYCLE RIDERS HOME-DELIVER BOXES OF GOODIES THAT INCLUDE A MEAL FOR FOUR FROM ZIA TAQUERIA OR PRIMI PASTA, FRESH GREENS FROM ADOBE FARMS, AND SAMPLES OF LOCALLY PRODUCED PRODUCTS THAT CHANGE FROM WEEK TO WEEK. CARE BOXES FROM WEEK 2 OF THE DELIVERY SERVICE INCLUDED HAND-SANITIZER FROM CURA-TE, BEAR BALM SKIN-CARE SALVE, AND A SELECTION OF DURANGO OLIVE OIL PRODUCTS. CARLY THOMSON, BUSINESS OPERATIONS MANAGER AT ZIA TAQUERIA, SAYS THE DELIVERY SERVICE DOESN'T COME CLOSE TO MATCHING THE NUMBER OF PRE-PANDEMIC MEALS THE RESTAURANT SERVED, BUT EVERY BIT HELPS. AND IT'S GIVING THE RESTAURANT AN OPPORTUNITY TO MARKET SOME OF ITS NEW RETAIL PRODUCTS.
TWENTY MORE MEALS THAT WE SENT OUT TODAY AND, YOU KNOW, A FEW MONTHS AGO MAYBE THAT WASN'T A HUGE IMPACT. BUT RIGHT NOW, I THINK, IT'S HARD ON THE RESTAURANT INDUSTRY. WE ARE ONLY ABLE TO DO TAKEOUT ONLY, AND SALES HAVE DECLINED FOR EVERYONE. SO 20 MEALS THAT WE DID GET OUT INTO THE COMMUNITY IS AWESOME. AND IT, YOU KNOW, I THINK IT'S JUST A GREAT COLLABORATION. IT HELPS US TO LET PEOPLE TRY SOME NEW PRODUCTS IN EACH, WITH EACH WEEK THAT WE DO. OUR DELIVERY PEOPLE WILL GET A SPECIAL PRODUCT FROM ZIA'S. WE DO HAVE A RETAIL TORTILLA LINE. THAT'S ALL MADE HERE IN DURANGO WITH ALL LOCAL INGREDIENTS, LOCAL CORN, AND THOSE ARE GOING OUT TODAY. SO FRESH CORN TORTILLAS. WE'VE GOT, WITH THAT SAME PROCESS, FRESH CHIPS IN A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT FLAVORS THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE DON'T KNOW ABOUT YET. SO THOSE WILL BE GOING OUT AND IN COMING WEEKS, AS WELL AS RETAIL, SALSA AND SOME OTHER THINGS.DELIVERY WILL CONTINUE THROUGH OCTOBER. COST IS 50 DOLLARS A WEEK FOR THE MEALS AND PRODUCTS, PLUS A ONE-TIME DELIVERY FEE OF 150 DOLLARS, PRO-RATED FROM THE WEEK YOU START YOUR SUBSCRIPTION. FIVE DOLLARS OF EVERY MEAL WILL BE DONATED TO THE GOOD FOOD COLLECTIVE. TO LEARN MORE ABOUT FARM-TO-DOOR DELIVERY, VISIT THE ROLL E-BIKES WEB SITE AT ROLL BIKE DOT COM. I'M WENDY GRAHAM SETTLE. THANKS FOR WATCHING THIS EDITION OF THE LOCAL NEWS NETWORK.
