NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark — Lindsey's BBQ is handing out free wristbands to vaccinated customers. The restaurant is requesting proof of vaccination for distribution of the free item.
The family owned restaurant is all about treating their customers well, even beyond their signature dishes. This includes taking care of customers during the pandemic.
Their hospitality caught the attention of Governor Asa Hutchinson last year, who supported them when they passed out free masks. Hutchinson even sported his free mask during one of his daily press briefings.
A year later, the restaurant's focus is celebrating customers who are vaccinated and maintaining a safe environment within the establishment.
"People were getting more vaccinated and we wanted to encourage the vaccination process," Eleanor Lindsey, co-owner of the restaurant, said. "If they show us their card, then they get one of these. We can't enforce anything or even double check anything, but we thought it was a really cute marketing tactic.".
She said the design for the wristbands were courtesy of her 19-year-old daughter Nia who is a marketing major at Spelman.
"We have a marketing major and some creative minds in the family and we just had to think outside the box to keep the business going," Lindsey said.
Donnie Lindsey owns the restaurant with Eleanor. She believes that people are eager to remove their masks, especially given recent guidelines that were introduced. The wristbands are intended to create a safe environment for those that wish to enter without a mask. .
"The CDC just came out saying that anybody whose been fully vaccinated doesn't have to wear the mask, so we were just trying to make it convenient for us to ask without asking," Lindsey said.
The wristbands act as a free product for the customer while simultaneously allowing the restaurant's staff to identify the vaccination status of returning customers.
Related: Family owned, operated since 1956, Lindsey's Bar-B-Q and Hospitality House is sure to win you over!
Steven Naylor has been a regular at restaurant since it first reopened in 1956 when was 5 years old. He, along with his wife, were truck drivers and consider Lindsey's BBQ to be the best in the country, even after traveling around the U.S.
The couple was appreciative of the restaurant's wristband and expressed their gratitude for the gift.
"I love it. I got it on. I don't have to wear that mask anymore," Naylor said.