BATON ROUGE - Restaurants across Baton Rouge have closed their dining areas, but many in the area are still offering other options amid the coronavirus outbreak.

The mayor's office announced the "Keep BR Serving" initiative to help keep local restaurants and caterers afloat during the coronavirus pandemic. Larger businesses are encouraged to purchase gift cards from local restaurants to give to employees affected by the recent restrictions put in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

"I challenge every large business to purchase 500 gift cards at our small local businesses and distribute them to your employees impacted by our current situation," Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome said.

20% of all proceeds from gift card sales will go directly to servers. 

"If these businesses don't survive this crisis, we're going to have a lot of leases available," Mitch Rotolo of Rotolo's Pizzeria said. "A lot of people out of work. And big box food is going to take over Baton Rouge culture which none of us want."

The mayor's office also announced extensions for filing local sales tax returns.

Residents can visit keepbrserving.com for a full list of businesses in the area still offering take-out, pick-up and delivery. The list will be updated twice daily.