With collaboration in Kendall’s DNA, our superpower is our ability to quickly come together to solve our biggest challenges. As 2020 comes to an end, we are looking back on all of the ways that the Kendall community and KSA has put that superpower to use, to support those most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In Kendall, the pandemic has decimated our independent restaurant community. This year, we had to say goodbye to Kendall staples like Friendly Toast, Flat Top Johnny’s, The Automatic, Abigail’s and too many others. But, there is a uniquely Kendall way we can help support our surviving independent restaurants: Toast Drop.
In June, at the KSA’s monthly Future of (how we) Work Task Force meeting, senior leaders of the Kendall innovation community identified two critical concerns for neighborhood vitality—the displacement of team culture and COVID-19’s effect on the restaurant community. As a community that thrives on solving society’s greatest challenges, Kendall turned to local real estate consultants and community activator Graffito SP and restaurant POS software company Toast to build a platform for employers to take action and restaurants to plug in.
Toast Drop, sponsored by Google Cambridge, allows employers the opportunity to safely feed their on site staff with local food they love and the flexibility they need, especially as offices adapt to new shift work and other capacity changes. This platform minimizes the risk of contamination by leveraging aggregated, free deliveries and offers employees benefits they haven’t been able to access since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. For Kendall restaurants, unlike other programs, there is no fee to participate in Toast Drop; this ensures that your investment goes to the restaurants — not the platform. Early adopters of this platform include Draper, Alexandria Real Estate, Synlogic, and CIC.
With the holiday season right around the corner, it’s important we embrace the spirit of Kendall – through community collaboration. We call on you to support our resilient restaurant community this winter, as we celebrate our employees with the food we love and miss. Get involved with Toast Drop today.