COMMERCE CITY, Colo. (KDVR) — For more than a decade, Rex Moore has been supplying bison burgers, steaks and roasts to restaurants across Colorado. 

The meat from Rock River Ranches has even landed him a photo on the menu at Denver’s Park Burger. 

But with dining rooms shut down and restaurants struggling with takeout orders, Moore has seen business dry up. 

“Normally, I should have about 45 deliveries a week,” he said. “Last week, I had five orders. And they were small orders.” 

Moore, like many Colorado ranchers who supply primarily to restaurants, has been bracing for the worst. 

“I lost 80% of my restaurants in one week,” he said. “I was distraught and thought I could lose my business and have to sell the herd.” 

Moore posted a desperate plea on social media, asking for help. 

“I was amazed at the response,” he said through tears. “Within one hour, there was 1,000 shares. Within five hours, there was 12,000 shares. As of this morning, it’s been shared 28,000 times.” 

Moore says his phone has been ringing off the hook, with Coloradans looking to save his business.

“It’s overwhelming, the people that want to help,” he said. “I’m just amazed. People are calling and saying, ‘I have $100, I want to buy some meat.’ I had a large freezer and cooler of meat that had no where to go, and now it’s all going to be gone.”

He estimates he has received roughly 2,000 order requests since Monday. 

“We took over 1,000 orders yesterday, which would triple my monthly business that I would sell to restaurants in a month,” he said.

Moore has since taken down the post, saying he simply can’t keep up with the sudden demand. 

His advice to other ranchers in a similar situation: Don’t be afraid to ask for help.

“Put some posts out there, people want to help,” he said. “They want to support local. All of these Colorado people who know we’re in trouble, and they want to help you.”