When Life Gives COVID-19, Dancers Make ‘Boober Eats’
Life is currently giving the world a lot of “lemons” in the form of COVID-19. Some ingenious people in Portland, OR, however, are attempting to turn those lemons into lemonade via a new service – “Boober Eats.”
Globalnews.ca recently reported that dancers at the Lucky Devil Lounge in Portland are delivering “meals on heels” as part of a new venture called “Boober Eats.” The name is — obviously — a play on Uber Eats.
Here’s how it works: The lounge takes and makes the orders, then two women in pasties show up to drop off the food in person. Simple. And simply genius.
Lucky Devil Lounge owner Shon Boulden has been speaking around the internet about Boober Eats, and he’s been quoted as sting that the food deliveries began as a joke on social media after the club was forced to stop regular business. He decided to give the idea a real shot on St. Patrick’s Day after receiving a flood of positive messages about it — and since the statewide lockdown does not apply to food delivery, this was a potentially viable way to keep his business active. The orders have been pouring in ever since.
“It’s crazy,” Boulden told the Oregonian. “We mutated our one business into a totally different style of business.”
“All the calls, people are just giddy and fun,” he continued. “Sometimes it’s a surprise for someone, sometimes it’s a birthday, sometimes it’s people that are really stoned.”
Per Oregon law, dancers are considered independent contractors. As such, they can’t claim unemployment benefits under the state’s Coronavirus lockdown measures. Dancers have stated, however, that the food delivery service a way to keep the money coming in — and Boulden reportedly has about 25 of his original 80 dancers running food deliveries from Thursdays through Sundays.
“Losing this job is devastating,” a dancer called Kiki told the Oregonian. “For the majority of us, it’s been an almost complete loss of income. I’m here supporting my community and trying to keep maintaining an income flow as best we can.”
Boober Eats delivery fees start at about $30. The service offers a wide range of pub food, from pizza and chicken fingers to steak bites and corndogs. Customers can call in or order online, and tipping the dancers is strongly encouraged.
Note: The service name seems to have pivoted to “Lucky Devil Eats,” though this was not reported by Globalnews.ca.
Image via @booberpdx here.