Heineken México has announced a voucher program designed to support restaurant owners and wait staff during the difficult economic times caused by the coronavirus.

The beer maker’s Por Tu Restaurante (For Your Restaurant) campaign aims to support 10,000 bars and restaurants across the country, including as many as 50,000 servers and other staff.

The program will offer customers the option to buy vouchers for future meals at restaurants that have been approved via an online application process. They will be valid once in-house service has resumed.

Depending on the amount purchased, the vouchers also come with two to eight free beers on the day they are redeemed.

The program also allows customers to add a 10-15% tip that Heineken will match until the fund reaches a maximum of 4 million pesos (US $168,000).

Heineken is selling the vouchers online (Spanish only) but as of Tuesday morning the purchase function was not yet available.

Heineken and other beer makers in Mexico halted production in early April after the beverage was listed as a nonessential agro-industrial product by the federal government.

After a month of no production, the country now faces a shortage of beer as the quarantine measures have been extended through May.

Restaurant owners and their employees have been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic. A video of a restaurateur in Sonora breaking down into tears while explaining why he cannot afford to continue paying his employees went viral in mid-April.

However, sparks of hope have begun to glimmer in other parts of the country, as some places begin gradual reopenings. As many as 700 restaurants in La Paz, Baja California Sur, reopened for delivery and take-out with limited staff on Monday.

Source: El Financiero (sp)