It is safe to say local restaurants are struggling amid the COVID-19 pandemic, social distancing and "stay home" mandate, but this website offers a way you can help.

As reported by MLive, a small team of entrepreneurs in Ann Arbor launched their website, saveMIfaves.org, “to help people easily find/buy gift cards to their favorite local businesses.”

Co-founder Josh Botkin, who works in Entrepreneurial Studies UofM said (in an email to Michigan's Best) he and his fellow website founders do not benefit from transactions on the site where visitors can buy gift cards directly from the small businesses.

While every day they are adding more and more restaurants, cafes and bars that have gift cards available online, so far you can find restaurants in Ypsilanti, Detroit, East Lansing, Albion, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Dexter, and more across Michigan.

In a message Botkin and his fellow site developers want everyone to recognize, the site bluntly states “Your favorite Michigan restaurant might close forever. Help save it.”

The site also reminds us of the costs that go into running a restaurant, costs that may not be able to be covered without our help in times like this.

While buying a gift card may not be the kind of instant gratification you get when just going to the restaurant and eating there, you can at least know you are helping them fight to stay open another day and can use the gift card to celebrate when this is all over.

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