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Mostly Cloudy Television producer promotes Rockville Centre restaurants
As local restaurants continue to struggle amid the coronavirus pandemic, one Rockville Centre resident is creating short web commercials, free of charge, to help them out.
Doug Z. Goodstein, a lifelong village resident, has worked in television production for 30 years. He was Howard Stern’s executive producer for 19 years, and last year finished a run producing conservative commentator Mark Levin’s Sunday-night show on Fox News.
Goodstein, 49, had recently begun working independently when the pandemic began. In February, a major cable network was showing interest in a show he pitched, but all discussions on it came to a “screeching halt,” as he described it. “We had some good momentum on [that show],” Goodstein said. “It’s been more frustrating than anything that no one knows when an end is coming and when things will get back to normal.”
During his time at home, Goodstein wanted to put his skills to use. He reached out to a friend from South Side High School, Tommy McNicholas, who now owns Kasey’s Kitchen & Cocktails in the village, to see how he could help. Kasey’s is temporarily closed, McNicholas’s other restaurants, Craft Kitchen & Tap House locations in Wantagh and Lynbrook, are open.
Goodstein made a short video to promote them. Then, he reached out to other businesses via email to offer his services.
“At a time when so many people and businesses are down and disrupted,” Goodstein said, “helping out in any way I can to try to make a difference for others makes this all worth it.”
For the videos, which are roughly 30 seconds long, Goodstein asks for photos of restaurants, their logos, high-quality photos of the food, recent web advertisements or fliers and text they want on the screen.
“Doug is so talented, and did an amazing job for us,” McNicholas said. “We posted the video on our site, and it definitely helped with our delivery and takeout business.”
McNicholas added that at a time like this, “every little bit helps to get the word out” that restaurants are open and taking extra precautions when preparing food. Restaurants have also used the videos to promote special offers.
Goodstein has now created about 10 videos for Rockville Centre businesses, including Bigelow’s, Parma Market, Valenti Pharmacy, Lenox & Park, Gino’s, Slider Joe’s and Parmagianni. They can be found on his YouTube channel, ZymurgyProd, and circulate around the business’s websites and social media as well.
“This is the kind of thing that gives me hope,” Mike Griffo, owner of Lenox & Park, wrote on Facebook. “I am so grateful for [Doug’s] generosity.”
Goodstein has a few more videos in the works. He’s been in touch with Michelle James, a resident who runs the Facebook group Support for Local Businesses and Front Line Workers, to see which restaurants are helping out in the community and could use the extra boost.
“Like I tell my kids, doing what’s right can never be wrong,” Goodstein said. “This isn’t going to make or break a business in the midst of this, but it is a piece of the puzzle that can start to help them. The last thing you want to see in this area is shuttered businesses.”
