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Florida, for lack of a better word, is a total clusterf*%#. Despite currently ranking number 3 in U.S. states with the most COVID cases, governor Ron DeSantis and many of his fellow lawmakers seem to actively be doing everything they can to avoid following the health guidelines being set forth by the CDC and other medical experts for how to best slow down the spread of this deadly virus, which has already killed more than 4.5 million people worldwide. And now they’re putting the Sunshine State’s school-age children in further danger and threatening the livelihoods of those in charge of educating Florida’s kids.

Earlier this week, as ABC News reports, the Florida Department of Education announced that it was withholding the salaries of school board officials in two counties that had instituted mask mandates in their school districts. While the CDC has recommended “universal indoor masking for all teachers, staff, students, and visitors to K-12 schools, regardless of vaccination status,” Florida has once again decided that it knows better and decided to ban mask mandates altogether.

“We’re going to fight to protect parents’ rights to make health care decisions for their children,” Florida Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran said in a statement. “They know what is best for their children.” (Do they though?) “What’s unacceptable is the politicians who have raised their right hands and pledged, under oath, to uphold the Constitution but are not doing so,” Corcoran continued. “Simply said, elected officials cannot pick and choose what laws they want to follow.”

According to ABC News:

The department’s announcement came after a circuit court judge in Florida ruled on Friday that Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ recent executive order banning school mask mandates overstepped his authority. The Florida Department of Education did not mention the ruling in its announcement.

DeSantis had similarly threatened to withhold the salaries of school superintendents who erred on the side of not endangering their students and faculty by requiring them to mask up indoors. When pressed on whether he actually had the authority to do that, DeSantis admitted he did not. (Yes, it’s ok to laugh.)

(Via ABC News)

Alright, enough is enough. Things were bad enough when Peppa Pig sparked a beef with Cardi B over encouraging Kulture to splash in puddles and it was pretty amusing to see Iggy Azalea square off with the British porker over their shared album release date a couple of years ago, but Peppa is turning into an outright menace lately. The porcine TV star has apparently chosen the next target for her ongoing antagonism of the hip-hop world, marking Kanye West for a vicious burn over the reception of their respective albums on Pitchfork.

In his review of Kanye’s new album Donda, Pitchfork’s Dylan Green called the album a “data dump of songs searching for a higher calling,” awarding it an “above average” 6.0 rating (out of 10). Meanwhile, earlier this summer the publication also tapped Peyton Thomas to review Peppa’s Adventures: The Album, resulting in a 6.5 score, which many on Twitter noted after the Donda review’s publication — including the people or person behind Peppa Pig’s official Twitter account. Taking a second to gloat over the .5-point win, Peppa tweeted, “Peppa didn’t need to host listening parties in Mercedes-Benz Stadium to get that .5,” juxtaposing screenshots of the two scores side-by-side.

And while the tweet has since been deleted, it’s almost been immortalized by screenshots like the one above. It’s kind of amusing to think that a team of children’s television writers were able to put together a better release than a self-proclaimed genius who heralded his work with elaborate listening events and even rented out living space in the venues where he held them while “finishing” the album. For what it’s worth, Kanye claims that the version of the album that came out was released by his label without his permission, but on the other hand, we can’t see how much it could be improved (click for our review) — and it is pretty similar to what he played at the aforementioned listening events.

Fans have been pretty amused by the joust, especially as it draws some attention away from his long-overdrawn feud with Drake ahead of the Certified Lover Boy release this week. Now, if Drake gets a higher score too (or takes shots as Peppa has), it could be bad news for anyone exhausted with their juvenile sniping, as Kanye’s manager vowed to end the duel of wits only if Drake remains mum on the subject of Kanye — which seems pretty much impossible at this point. Check out some fans’ responses below.

Thank you, Emilia Clarke, for confirming that Jason Momoa’s life is exactly how I picture it. The Game of Thrones stars reunited at co-creator David Benioff’s birthday last month, where they got “as drunk as humanly possible,” according to the Mother of Dragons.

“When Jay’s in town, you know it’s going down,” Clarke told People. “He walks into the room and you’re just like, ‘My man.’ It’s almost like a test, every time he sees [me] he’s like, ‘Can I still throw you around the room? Yeah I can.’” She said that she’s “never tried so many different whiskeys in my entire life” as she did during the shindig. “There were a couple that were really nice, and there were a couple that were paint stripper, and I literally was like, ‘Yeah I’m gonna down you, get hair on your chest.’ It was funny.”

Getting very drunk? Check. The words “my man”? Check. Offering to throw people around a room? Check. The only thing that stopping this story from being peak Momoa is that he was wearing a shirt at the time. Disappointing.

“When your sun and stars rolls into town you check that he can still bench press a Khaleesi,” Clarke wrote on Instagram about their reunion, while Momoa added, “MOON OF MY LIFE. you are wonderful love u forever @emilia_clarke #smilelyeyes.”

There’s a near-constant flow of new bourbon whiskeys hitting the market these days. Between craft distillers and blenders popping up all over the country and the big names expanding their expression portfolios, whiskey drinkers are never left with a lack of choice. The issue is winnowing the endless options down and sorting out what’s worth keeping on your bar cart.

To help you keep up with it all, we’re constantly tasting new and exciting (and some not so exciting) bourbons and letting you know what we think. It’s a tough job, but trust us — we take it very seriously.

Today, we’re tasting eight bourbons that dropped in 2021. Some of these are brand-spanking-new expressions like Stellum and George Dickel’s new bourbon and some are just new batch releases from High West and Evan Williams. It’s a solid mix and we tried to keep the price point at or below $70.

Our lineup today is:

• Evan Williams Small Batch (2021 re-release)
• Boulder Spirits Straight Bourbon Whiskey
• George Dickel Aged 8 Years Bourbon
• Stellum Bourbon
• Pursuit United
• High West American Prairie Bourbon
• Five Brothers
• Still Austin The Musician

The beauty of this sort of blind tasting is that I’m going in without any preconceived notions. The ranking below is based purely on taste. Will my beloved Evan Williams Small Batch win the day? How will Nicole Austin’s foray into bourbon hold up? Where will the noobie craft juices fall in this line-up? Let’s find out!

Also Read: The Top 5 UPROXX Bourbon Posts Of 2021

• The Best Bottles Of Bourbon Whiskey For Under $20, Ranked
• Our Favorite Bourbon Whiskey From Every Price Point Between $10-$200
• All 19 Brands From The Buffalo Trace Distillery, Ranked
• Here’s Who Won Our Big Barrel Proof Bourbon Whiskey Blind Taste Test
• The Best Bourbon Whiskeys To Drink Neat, From $50 On Up

Part 1: The Taste

Taste 1

Tasting Notes:

This is soft on the nose with a hint of vanilla next to new leather, cornmeal, and a touch of orchard fruit. The taste is all caramel apples, buttered cornbread, mild cherry, and a hint of eggnog spice. The end is sweet to the point of a honey candy with a touch more of that apple but fades really quickly.

Taste 2

Tasting Notes:

This is fruity. It’s sweet at first with touches of apple and then mellows towards figs. The palate leans into pecan pie, soft leather, light spice, and a touch of malts. The end hits a honey-raisin note with a grainy, almost oatmeal cookie edge boosted by a touch of nutmeg.

Taste 3

Tasting Notes:

This feels classic with notes of rich vanilla, old cedar boxes full of dry tobacco, and an apple cobbler vibe with plenty of butter and spice. The taste starts off with a leathery note leading towards creamy eggnog spiciness next to choco-oranges and a dry wicker mid-palate. The finish goes from dry apple tobacco to rich and creamy vanilla.

Taste 4

Tasting Notes:

This is a dark holiday cake full of nuts and candied fruits supporting a tart berry brightness and a light touch of new leather. The palate meanders from dry raisins towards sugary apple candy to a fresh honeycomb. That fruit and honey dominate through the finish, leaving you with a dry chili-flake spicy warmth at the very end.

Taste 5

Tasting Notes:

This has a really lush eggnog creaminess and spice mix next to a dry tannic red wine vibe with a hint of dry cedar on the nose. The taste is all dark chocolate-covered salted caramels with a spritz of orange oils and a mid-palate of dry cornmeal. The finish has a dry chocolate-tobacco feel with more orange and cedar, leaving you with a bold yet super soft end.

Taste 6

Tasting Notes:

I don’t know what this is but paired with the last dram, we’re into the good stuff now. This opens with caramel apples next to new leather, vanilla pudding, and sweet buttered corn with a touch of salt. The palate has a nougat svelteness next to creamed corn and Southern biscuits dripping with butter and honey. The mid-palate to finish starts to dry out with vanilla husks and cedar bark but then veers into apple candy.

Taste 7

Tasting Notes:

Again, damn this is a good run of drams! This draws you in with maple syrup, apple tobacco, resinous pine, and a touch of unpopped popcorn kernels. The palate is pecan-loaded waffles smothered in butter and syrup with vanilla ice cream, light brown spiciness, and maple-infused sweet tobacco on the end.

Taste 8

Tasting Notes:

Hum. This is fake fruit kind of like a pineapple candy soda with notes of rummy spice and too raw leather. The palate has a nice vanilla creaminess with a hint more of that spice leading back towards that pineapple note with a touch of milk chocolate. There’s a hint of overly sweet marzipan on the backend with a choco-tobacco dry finish that disappears way too fast.

Part 2: The Ranking

Some fun surprises here — both with drams that went even higher than expected and a few that landed lower, though I love the brands they come from. As I said, it was a great lineup with no true losers by any stretch.

8. Still Austin The Musician — Taste 8

ABV: 49.2%

Average Price: $46

The Whiskey:

The folks at Still Austin have spent the last six years perfecting their grain-to-glass whiskey experience. The juice is rendered with grains from Texas and water from the ground beneath their feet, all imbued with a crafty Texas vibe in every sip. The actual whiskey is a two-year-old bourbon that’s batched to highlight the bright fruits of the new and crafty whiskey.

Bottom Line:

This has some serious fruitiness that gives it away as a young, new bourbon. There’s a lot of promise in that juice but it’s just not there yet for me.

7. Evan Williams Small Batch — Taste 1

ABV: 45%

Average Price: $20

The Whiskey:

So this is a “small batch” in theory and name more than practice. The expression is a marrying of 200 barrels of bourbon from Heaven Hill’s warehouses. The new bottling also comes with a new proof of 90, bumping this up from the previous version.

Bottom Line:

This was just light today. The flavors were there but nothing jumped out.

6. Stellum Bourbon — Taste 4

ABV: 57.49%

Average Price: $55

The Whiskey:

Stellum Bourbon is the new kid on the block. The bottle grabs your attention immediately by having a super low-key design in a classic wine bottle. The juice in that bottle is a cask-strength blend of whiskeys from Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee. This whiskey is all about the blending process that Stellum employs to make this special and award-winning juice.

Bottom Line:

This was nice. I feel bad ranking it sixth. I really dig this… maybe that’s more of a testament to some of the whiskeys on this list rather than taking anything away from this one.

5. Boulder Straight Bourbon Whiskey — Taste 2

ABV: 42%

Average Price: $45

The Whiskey:

This is a fascinating and unique bourbon. It starts with the mash bill which has just enough corn to be considered a bourbon with 51 percent corn, 44 percent malted barley, and five percent rye. There are few bourbons out there with such a big dose of malted barley in the mash, edging this close to single malt territory. Beyond that, the juice is aged for four years high up in Colorado before it’s cut with Rocky Mountain water.

Bottom Line:

Ah-ha! That’s why this tasted more like a single malt than a bourbon! All that grain really shone through and confused me on where to put this one. It’s interesting and tasty. I definitely need to revisit it when I can really sit with the dram.

4. George Dickel Bourbon — Taste 3

ABV: 45%

Average Price: $30

The Whiskey:

This whisky was a special release from Nicole Austin and a new direction for the brand. The whisky is the same Dickel, simply pulled from barrels that leaned more into classic bourbon flavor notes instead of Dickel’s iconic Tennessee whisky notes. The barrels are a minimum of eight years old before they’re vatted. The juice is then cut down to a manageable 90 proof and bottled.

Bottom Line:

This was just a classic bourbon through and through. It was definitely more refined than Evan Williams but didn’t have that “wow factor” today. Given those classic notes, I really need to start using this in cocktails to see what’s buried in there.

3. High West American Prairie — Taste 6

ABV: 46%

Average Price: $50

The Whiskey:

American Prairie is quickly becoming one of the most sought-after sourced whiskeys. The whiskey in the bottle is a blend of two to 13-year-old barrels rendered from high-rye, low-rye, and undisclosed source mash bills. The release supports the American Prairie Reserve by highlighting the project and supporting it financially.

Bottom Line:

Finding out that this was High West made a certain sort of sense. The craft whiskey remains one of the most popular sourced whiskeys out there. It’s well-flavored and unique while staying very drinkable.

2. Five Brothers Bourbon — Taste 7

ABV: 45%

Average Price: $60

The Whiskey:

This brand new bourbon from Heaven Hill celebrates the five brothers who started the distillery back in 1935. The bottle was released to celebrate the brand-new visitor’s center at Heaven Hill and is largely only available there. The juice in this bottle is a blend of five bourbons of varying ages between five and nine years old made with Heaven Hill’s classic mash bill of 78 percent corn, 12 percent malted barley, and ten percent rye.

Bottom Line:

I went back and forth on this as numbers one and two. This felt a hair less refined and a hair sweeter. Still, I really dig this whiskey a lot. It’s going to be hard to keep this bottle on the shelf. (Or store shelves, if it ever hits them.)

1. Pursuit United — Taste 5

ABV: 54%

Average Price: $65

The Whiskey:

As mentioned above, this is a vatted from 40 total barrels from three different states. While the team at Pursuit United doesn’t release the Tennessee distillery name, we know the juices from Kentucky and New York are from Bardstown Bourbon Company and Finger Lakes Distilling, respectively. This final release of 2021 from Pursuit United put 9,342 bottles on the market in six states (Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Tennessee, Texas, and Kentucky) and is available online via Seelbachs.com.

Bottom Line:

This just hit perfectly on my palate today. This was also the dram I wanted to return right away. This juice is just good all around and a wonderful example of why both sourcing and blending should be destigmatized.

Part 3: Final Thoughts

This was a pretty surprising list for me. I guess I need to buy a case of Pursuit United before it sells out.

In the end, I could have ranked these with Still Austin last, Evan Williams in third, and then the sixth, fifth, and fourth place tied for second place and third, second, and first place tied for the number one spot. But where’s the fun in that? My point is, these were some stellar bourbons and I was really splitting hairs with most of them. Still, that Pursuit United really rocks every time I try it — the fact that it came from some upstart bourbon podcasters is a wonderful story but it’s the juice in the bottle that truly shines.

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As a Drizly affiliate, Uproxx may receive a commission pursuant to certain items on this list.

After a nearly 40-year-long hiatus, one of the most successful music groups of all time is making a triumphant return. ABBA announced that they’ve regrouped and have been hard at work in the studio gearing up for their new album, Voyage.

According to ABBA, the group didn’t come together with the intention of writing a whole new album. Instead, the band — consisting of Benny Anderson, Agnetha Fältskog, Anni-Frid Lyngstad, and Björn Kristian Ulvaeus — reunited to prepare a hologram concert in London that’s set for May 27, 2022. ABBA then decided to make Voyage to perform digitally at the concert, which they’ve called “the strangest and most spectacular concert you could ever dream of.”

In a statement about ABBA’s return, Anderson explained the reason behind Voyage:

“We simply call it Voyage and we’re truly sailing in uncharted waters. With the help of our younger selves, we travel into the future. It’s not easy to explain but then it hasn’t been done before. It’s hard to say what’s been the most joyful thing for me with this project. If it’s the involvement in creating the concert together with everyone or being back in the studio together again after 40 years. I think hearing Frida and Agnetha singing again is hard to beat. When you come to the arena you will have the four of us together with an absolutely glorious 10-piece band. And even if not in the flesh, we will be right there, thanks to the work of the creative team and ILM.”

Echoing Anderson’s statement, Fältskog said she had no idea what to expect when they got together in the studio. “When we got back together in the studio I had no idea what to expect… But Benny’s recording studio is such a friendly and safe environment, and before I knew it I was really enjoying myself,” she said. “I can hardly believe that finally, the moment has come to share this with the world!”

Check out ABBA’s Voyage album cover below.

Voyage is out 11/5 via Capitol.

Donald Trump Jr. tweets a lot. Often times he retweets himself. Sometimes there’s unhinged videos. It’s as though he’s making up for the absence of his father, who was kicked off Twitter nearly nine months back. Like his dad, some of what he tweets are provably false. It could get him in trouble some day. Except it already has: For the last two years, he’s tried to shoot down a defamation lawsuit. And a judge just declared that it can move forward.

According to The Washington Post, Jr. was sued by businessman-turned-attempted politician Don Blankenship, whom his father opposed, after he called him a “felon” during his failed 2018 senatorial campaign in West Virginia. He was referring to an accident at one of Blankenship’s mines, which resulted in him being charged with felonies. However, he wound up only being convicted on a misdemeanor. Blankenship attempted to explain this to Don Jr., but to no avail. Don Jr. left the false tweet up until at least June of that year. Blankenship lost his primary race.

Since then, Jr. has been trying to get the case dismissed — but also to no avail. In the judge’s ruling, he points out that Jr. “never retracted or corrected the false tweets, despite being informed of their falsity.”

If that sounds familiar, that’s because Don Jr. is currently doing the very same thing. Republicans recently seized upon an image of a man in silhouette dangling from a noose from a helicopter, claiming that it was a U.S. vehicle that was left behind, being flown by the Taliban. That was quickly debunked. But Don Jr. has continued to spread the lie. He’s even currently using the image as Twitter page banner.

As per the Blankenship lawsuit, Trump’s legal team has argued that news outlets also falsely reported that he was a felon. However, as The Post notes, there’s one key difference:

A key difference, though, as with much of the whataboutism over media fact-checking of the Trumps and their allies, is that many of the media outlets corrected the information. Trump Jr.’s M.O., by contrast, is to press forward even after his many false claims are debunked. The judge also goes further in this case in stating there is evidence Trump Jr. would have known the truth.

Whether or not Blankenship’s lawsuit is successful, it puts yet another legal hurdle in front of the Trump family. But at least the apple hasn’t fallen far from the tree.

(Via WaPo)

ESPN’s daily debate show First Take is going to look a little different going forward after its parting of ways with Max Kellerman. While Stephen A. Smith will stick around and Molly Qerim Rose will remain host, First Take is changing up its format, as a collection of folks will rotate in to debate Smith on a variety of subjects.

It had previously been reported that one of Smith’s longtime foils, Michael Irvin, will come on the show every Monday, presumably so the two can yell at each other about the Dallas Cowboys. That was confirmed in a release by ESPN on Thursday, which included a handful of other names that will appear on the show. Among them is former quarterback/tight end/outfielder and longtime ESPN personality Tim Tebow, who will appear on Fridays during the college football season.

The rest of the week, Smith and Qerim Rose will be joined by ESPN’s industry-leading roster of analysts and insiders across sports, including Paul Finebaum, Keyshawn Johnson, Mina Kimes, Kimberley A. Martin, Monica McNutt, Jessica Mendoza, Chiney Ogwumike, Dan Orlovsky, Kendrick Perkins, Marcus Spears, Brian Windhorst, Damien Woody and many more.

Each week will culminate on Friday with Heisman Trophy Winner and SEC Network analyst Tim Tebow and Smith debating all things college football heading into Saturdays throughout the season. In addition, First Take will also continue to regularly welcome signature celebrity guests from across sports and entertainment to the show.

Tebow has plenty of experience on TV, so he probably won’t be flummoxed by Smith all that much. But at the very least, he’s found something to do after his recent attempt to change positions and make it with the Jacksonville Jaguars came up a little short.

In an extremely erratic rant punctuated by numerous exclamation marks and without the courtesy of at least threading his thoughts, Donald Trump Jr. attempted to accuse Joe Biden of allegedly bribing Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani into claiming the military withdrawal is going well. While it’s hard to tell exactly what Don Jr. is talking about based on his scattershot assortment of tweets, he’s pulling from a New York Post report that claims Biden pressured Ghani into helping with the “perception” problem to “project a different picture” that things aren’t going well in the “fight against the Taliban.”

The claim is built on a transcript of a phone call obtained by Reuters between Biden and Ghani. Importantly, the call in question took place before Ghani fled the country at the start of the withdrawal. Biden thought he was talking to an ally who would navigate a situation that didn’t involve the Taliban seizing control of the Afghan government in less than 24 hours. Not to mention, Biden was also operating under the auspices of the deal made by the Trump administration.

Naturally, that key information was missing as Don Jr. launched into his Twitter rant:

Seems like NOT a Perfect phone Call!!! Of course the impeachment hucksters are totally silent.

“Whether it’s true or not” sounds a lot like a president trying to get another president to lie to the world.

Media, Dems, RINO Republicans: Totally fine. Not even a little bit impeachable despite the BS we pulled 6 months ago which, even if true, was a tiny fraction of this!

Joe Biden offered US taxpayer funded aid to a foreign leader in exchange for his help in lying to the American people about the dire situation in Afghanistan — part of a scheme to use the presidency to protect Biden’s personal political interests. #QuidProJoe

Despite spreading his accusations across several tweets, Don Jr. was fact-checked in the replies and roasted for basically suggesting that his father committed treason during the infamous Ukraine call and is also responsible for the deal that led to the conditions in Afghanistan:

(Via Donald Trump Jr. on Twitter, New York Post)

Lil Skies remains a star three years after the stunning release of his hit debut mixtape Life Of A Dark Rose. The 23-year-old is just months removed from the January release of his second studio album Unbothered, which debuted at No. 50 on the Billboard 200, supporting it since with the release of a deluxe version with seven new songs, including the exuberant “Ice Water” featuring Trippie Redd.

Today, Lil Skies comes through for a bouncy UPROXX Sessions performance of that track sans Trippie (another Sessions alum), just a few months after his last appearance, when he dropped in to show off another deluxe edition track, “How You Feel.” While that performance was more laid-back, this time around he brings lots of energy, reflecting the celebratory vibe on “Ice Water.”

Check out Lil Skies’ bouncy performance of “Ice Water” for UPROXX Sessions above.

UPROXX Sessions is Uproxx’s performance show featuring the hottest up-and-coming acts you should keep an eye on. Featuring creative direction from LA promotion collective, Ham On Everything, and taking place on our “bathroom” set designed and painted by Julian Gross, UPROXX Sessions is a showcase of some of our favorite performers, who just might soon be yours, too.

Lil Skies is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

When Wahoo Seafood Grill owner Shawn Shepherd got a phone call from an employee about an extraordinarily large tip, his first instinct was to be suspicious. He advised his employee to check the customer’s ID and name on the back of the card, which checked out. Even after the point-of-sale transaction went through, Shepherd still checked the next day to make sure the money was still there.

It was. All $10,000 of it.

According to The Gainesville Sun, a man eating at the restaurant with his wife and child had gathered the staff of 10 who were working at the restaurant on August 17 and thanked them for their hard work. Then he paid his $144 bill and added $10,000 on top of it for the employees to split.

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“Watching these guys get their check was almost as good as Christmas morning,” Shepherd told The Sun.

The restaurant shared a photo of the bill with the tip included, writing:

“On Tuesday night, a customer asked our entire restaurant staff to come to the dining area. He thanked them for showing up and working hard.

Then something incredible happened. He told them he was giving them $1,000 each.

Our staff couldn’t believe it.

Wahoo Seafood Grill’s owner, Shawn Shepherd said, ‘I’m not usually an emotional guy, but this really got me. I’m blown away. We’re ALL blown away by his generosity.

The last year and a half hasn’t been easy on this industry. We’re hurting and we’re exhausted, but this incredible act of kindness has restored our faith in humanity.’

Our whole staff would like to thank this generous customer from the bottom of our hearts. We are all going to pay it forward in our own ways. Even the smallest acts of kindness can have a giant ripple effect.

We’re just a local, veteran-owned seafood restaurant doing our best to weather this storm — and this is truly the last thing we expected to happen on a regular Tuesday night.

By sharing this, we hope you feel inspired to do something nice for someone today. Be the reason someone believes in the goodness of people.”

One of the employees who was called into work that night was a mom whose child has been in and out of the hospital. “It’s been absolutely a really stressful time for her,” Shepherd said, so the tip was an especially welcome surprise.

Shepherd said the employees working that night had stuck with the business during the past 18 months of upheaval, so he was extra grateful to be able to distribute the generous tip to them.

Wahoo had closed temporarily in late March of 2020 and like thousands of other businesses hit hard by the pandemic, Shepherd had to figure out how to stay afloat and pay employees.

“I knew nothing about curbside, I knew nothing about delivery and take out. We weren’t prepared for that. We didn’t even have the containers to do it,” Shepherd told The Sun, noting that he lost $30,000 worth of food.

With the help of The Florida Restaurant Lodging Association and the Alachua County Chamber of Commerce, he was able to receive emergency funding to pay employees, but even after the restaurant reopened, business was abysmally slow.

“We had no business coming through the front door,” Shepherd said.

Shephard said he was indebted to the loyal Wahoo employees who have stuck with him and helped keep the restaurant afloat. How wonderful to see a customer share the same appreciation and use their resources to provide a little relief to people who have been through so much uncertainty.