PINEVILLE, Ky. – Within a matter of hours, Gina Wilson’s business – and world – was flipped upside down.

It was March 16, 2020 and Governor Andy Beshear announced the closure of dining at restaurants across the Commonwealth in an effort to contain the COVID-19 virus.

Gina and her husband, Mike Wilson, own Sauced: Craft Pizza, Pasta, and Salad in both Pineville and London.  It is a popular fast-casual restaurant that opened in Pineville in August 2017 and opened its second location in London in January.

For Gina, who has a degree in marketing, she knew it was a time to adapt and adjust.

“I remember sitting at the house on that Monday, trying to figure out how do we essentially reinvent ourselves to the new normal for restaurants during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Gina recalls. “Our business model is unique… it is about coming through the doors, interacting with us, choosing your ingredients from the bar, and interacting with our staff.   We weren’t set up for curbside service.  We didn’t have multiple phone lines or the infrastructure for carry-out orders.”

Mike and Gina Wilson are the owners of Sauced: Craft Pizza, Pasta, and Salad in Pineville and London.

Gina had already thought about enhancing Sauced’s online presence in the future to include online ordering to grow their customer base.

COVID-19 sped that thought process up, and.  It made it become a top priority.

Like most small businesses, Gina had limited resources, and didn’t have the time to wait for something to be created.

That’s when she found out about S Media, a London, Ky.-based digital marketing company that was deploying their new product called RunMunch, which provides a complete ordering solution and online platform for pickup, carryout, and delivery service.

“My business partner (Greg Kitzmiller) and I saw a need in London and quick. That need was to provide restaurant owners the ability to get their menu online quick and the ability for customers to be able to pay online and receive their food curbside,” said Jason Hoskins, managing partner of S Media.  “We also realized that some of the existing solutions out there were also charging business owners a percentage of sales, which we knew would not be ideal for most businesses. So we came up with a solution that would remove commissions, provide them a stable online ordering platform, and have the ability to get them up and running within two business days.”  

RunMunch can be integrated into an existing website, Facebook, or a new website, which S media can offer in its suite of services.  To see how RunMunch works, you can visit www.runmunch.com.

With the implementation of Run Munch, Sauced has transitioned to the new normal for restaurants during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“The situation this virus has created will end eventually,” said Gina. “When we throw open our doors and get to embrace our customers again, we will come out of it stronger than before.  The online ordering tool has already become essential to our business, our customers have already embraced it, and we know it will be a part of what makes us better as a company in the future.”

To learn more about Sauced, visit their website or Facebook page.