Pints&union (114 E. Market in New Albany) reopened last week for dine-in service. Curbside carryout remains an option.
(Full disclosure: I’m the beer director at Pints&union).
Pints&union began the pandemic lock-down period in March with a curbside carryout program. Owner Joe Phillips explained what happened next in this Edible Kentucky & Southern Indiana submission.
Rising to the Challenge: Pints & Union Restaurant
When the COVID-19 quarantine shut down local restaurants in March, we were devastated and silent. We all knew it was coming, but to know it’s knocking at your door is a very different reality than watching others face it on social media or television. We were shell-shocked for two days—then realized we needed to get back to work, somehow.
Knowing our perishable food would go bad, we donated it to our workers who were suddenly out of work. We needed a sense of purpose; we needed to give back to the workers who have been providing hospitality to our communities every day for years.
Chef Edward Lee and Lindsey Ofcacek, founders of the LEE Initiative, gave us that opportunity with the Restaurant Workers Relief Program.
The new general manager and managing partner at Pints&union is Steven Cavanaugh, formerly of The Garage Bar in NuLu. Here Cavanaugh describes the current safety protocols.
While the charity work we’ve been able to accomplish in the time our doors have been closed has been some of the most rewarding and transformative experiences of our lives, we could not be more excited to welcome our guests back into the public house you’ve come to know and love in our nearly two years of operation.
This being said, there are a few new procedures to be aware of that we’re implementing to ensure the highest level of safety for our guests and for our staff as possible.
For starters, masks will be REQUIRED to enter the building, to order at the bar, and to move about the pub. Essentially anytime you’ll be away from your table, we’ll require a mask to be worn.
Being a public house, we and all who enter have a duty to do our part in helping keep the public safe. We’ll be self-imposing some capacity restrictions that go a bit further than the state currently allows by properly distancing all tables and bar stools, as well as prohibiting any standing-room-only areas.
All tables will have a “drop zone” where fresh food will be placed by our staff and dirty dishes can be placed by guests for our team to pick up. We’ll have bottles of sanitizer provided by Starlight Distillery at each table for guests to use while they’re here, and are taking several other behind-the-scenes precautions such as air purifiers, ionizers in our AC unit, and new ceiling fans to constantly clean and circulate fresh air.
The whole team is beyond exciting to get our doors open again and see some familiar, albeit masked, faces! We’ve got a new dinner menu to show off as well as some incredible stories to tell behind some of our new products. We’ll see you all soon!
On the general topic of face coverings/facemasks/masks during the coronavirus pandemic, this letter to the editor of The Journal, with coverage area in southeastern Colorado near the Four Corners, provides context in history.
No shoes, no shirt, no mask, no service
Colorado has many laws and regulations to protect the public. Since 1997, vehicles must have proof of liability insurance. I can find no evidence of serious protest about this law.
It is a state law that motorcycle riders under age 18 must wear helmets. There was much protest about universal helmet laws; this was the compromise.
“No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service” was a response by businesses in the 1960s and 1970s to keep long-haired hippies out of stores and restaurants.
There are no federal or state laws to this effect. However, there are laws that allow businesses to make their own regulations. This phrase has become an accepted norm. No contagion results from disobeying these examples.
If I am parked next to your car that has no proof of insurance, I am not exposing you or being exposed to anything lethal. If you pass me riding your motorcycle without a helmet, your exposure to harm is greater than mine.
Until January this year, we gave little thought to “No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service.” Scientific information says wearing masks can keep you and me from being exposed to COVID-19. Businesses can initiate this as a regulation.
Common sense suggests that If there is no choice, we will wear masks. We all will be safer if businesses work together to make “No Shirt, No Shoes, No Masks, No Service ” the norm in Montezuma County.
MB McAfee, Lewis
