Finally, dinner is served.
But rules and restrictions are on the table as well.
Three months after being forced to shutter their doors by the COVID-19 pandemic, local restaurants who have outdoor dining areas are again allowed to serve meals to customers seated at those tables, starting Friday.
Several local favorites, including
Lansdale Tavern and
Round Guys Brewing Company, are taking their first tentative steps toward normalcy. (See details below.) All are cautious and trying to scrupulously follow all state and local requirements as well as CDC guidelines for sanitation, separation and mitigation.
Topping the list:
Lansdale’s Stove & Tap, 329 W. Main St., which is opening up its sidewalk seating seven days a week, noon to 8 p.m., starting Friday.
And, in an unusual action at Wednesday’s virtual work session of Lansdale Borough Council, both the Public Safety Committee and full council voted unanimously to approve a request to close N. Wood Street adjacent to the popular eatery, on Friday and Saturday nights for at least the next two weekends (June 5-6 and 12-13).
Stove & Tap will be setting up tables in the roadway and serving dinner from 5 to 10 p.m. each evening; the Wood Street segment connecting Main and Madison Streets will be closed from 3 p.m. to midnight on those days.
The agreement, considered an application for a "special event permit” by
Stove & Tap, was negotiated by the borough and restaurant partner
Justin Weathers, and may be extended beyond two weekends at Borough
Council’s regular business meeting June 17, depending on conditions.
Weathers promised Council he’d be emphasizing products from Round Guys, Well Crafted Beer Company, Boardroom Spirits and Backyard Beans, to help boost the borough’s beleaguered businesses. And he said he’s working closely with other neighboring enterprises.
"I have the largest staff and am able to put a lot of them back to work. That’s one of the main goals,” Weathers told council. "What I’m hoping for is a draw back down to downtown that will create some foot traffic and walking around. A return to normalcy, a reminder of the businesses that are all in that area, and hopefully we can all be as forward-facing as we can.”
According to Borough Council President Denton Burnell, the terms for Wood Street use include:
- Seating is by reservation only.
- A table map and layout would be provided.
- All guests will be asked to wear a mask when not seated.
- Single-use paper menus, food and beverage containers only.
- All guests must provide contact information.
- No standing room or waiting area.
- An on-site manager will monitor compliance with CDC and sanitation guidelines.
- Employees will wear gloves and masks at all times.
- Staff will have temperature taken on arrival and a log will be kept.
- Restrooms will be a maximum of two per room, entering through the front door and monitored by an employee.
A major sticking point was the labor cost for installing secure road barriers each afternoon and removing them again late at night. Stove & Tap and the borough ultimately agreed to split the expense, estimated at $1,200 or less each weekend.
Other notable openings:
- Round Guys Brewing Company, 324 W. Main St., is configuring its tables along the South Wood Street sidewalk and says it will reopen for outdoor service starting Friday. Operating hours will be Wednesday through Sunday from 4 to 8 p.m., a limited and experimental menu will be offered, and seating will be on a first come-first served basis, no reservations, according to Round Guys. For questions or concerns, email [email protected].
- Lansdale Tavern, at 839 W. Main St., will be offering outside dining starting Friday. The tavern is setting up six tables on the Main Street sidewalk side, and another six in the parking area behind the restaurant. Seating will be from 4 to 8 p.m., by reservation only, for 1-1/2 hour time slots. Reservations can be made by phone up to 10 minutes beforehand, assuming availability. And the tavern will start out serving a limited menu to maximize the dining experience. (The full menu will still be available for takeout.)
- Just beyond Lansdale's borders, the popular Bacco Restaurant in Upper Gwynedd, which was damaged by fire in mid-May, will be reopening its patio for diners starting Friday (takeout service resumed Thursday). Hours and a reservation link are posted on the restaurant's website.
Several other borough favorites, including
Well Crafted Beer Company and
Boardroom Spirits, said they had no immediate plans to reopen to diners and will continue with curbside services.
Fry’s Catering, which operates much of Boardroom’s kitchen services, says it’s rolling out a brand new food truck offering a Mexican menu in the near future, and is currently in discussions with communities for dates, times and locations.
Borough Manager John Ernst said the borough also was talking with Equus Partners, owners of Madison Lansdale Station, about using their courtyard, located near Well Crafted and Stove & Tap, for outdoor restaurant dining, and suggested the Susquehanna Avenue parking lot and other borough locations as possible gathering venues as the yellow and green reopening phases advance.
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