You've already signed up for monthly music, television, gym and other services, and if you're even more modern, maybe your socks and underwear are coming via mail through a monthly subscription. So why not dinner and drinks? The idea of restaurant subscription services sprang up in bigger cities during the pandemic as a way to generate an income stream while dining rooms remained closed or at partial capacity. Some eateries have offered prepaid in-house dining programs while others have been sending food home to customers. That's the idea that American Elm owner Bob Reiter latched onto — not just as a way to get through the pandemic, but to meet demand he'd been hearing from customers.