Friends find way to keep weekly tradition alive despite pandemic

GREENFIELD, Wis. (CBS 58) -- The coronavirus pandemic has upended a lot of our regular activities, but today we met a group of guys who refused to let the virus stop their weekly get-togethers.

"It's kinda nice, it kinda relieves some of the tension and attitude that builds up when you're kinda cooped up."

Tom Bilitz and his four retired buddies have been meeting at the Griddler's Cafe in Greenfield for years. 

But when the pandemic hit, those meetings stopped for a while. 

Until one of the guys decided that while they couldn't meet at the restaurant counter, they could still meet in the parking lot. 

Now, every Thursday, one guy buys the coffee, another buys the donuts, and they meet. No Zooms or Facebook lives, but person-to-person.

"You gotta remember the average of of this group is probably 70-plus, so the internet and stuff has kinda passed a lot of us by. Sure we all have cellphones, but this is a lot more personal, a lot more personal to see each other and be able to talk without being on the phone."

The old Griddler's Cafe will soon reopen under a new name, so the parking lot guys should be able to go back inside.