At 2 p.m. yesterday, Health Secretary Dr. Rachael Levine declared that alcohol sales for on-premise consumption will end at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 25 — the evening before Thanksgiving. Alcohol sales may resume at 8 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 26. For those of you who do not understand liquor law legalese, if you enter Round Guys Brewing Company, Lansdale Tavern or Stove and Tap for dinner at 7 p.m. on Thanksgiving Eve, you are not allowed to be served alcohol.
Welcome to 15 hours of Prohibition.
Oh, it’s not really prohibition they say! We are still allowed to serve food and sell take out beer. Can you guess how many of our regulars come in to enjoy a meal with non-alcoholic beverages and then take a four-pack home? I can save you the time: it has happened exactly zero times in nine years. People go to BYOBs. They do not choose to go to BYBHs (Bring your Beer Home).
The restaurant industry is on a precipice. Many restaurant owners have had to go back to their lenders to ask for more loan deferrals during the pandemic. Some lenders have said yes, some have said no. Since it’s turned cold, it’s been especially brutal. I’m not going to get too deep into the weeds on this, but suffice to say we had a huge gift card order ($800) and it helped us immensely to make it through this month. Margins are just so razor thin now, and every dollar we get is important.
This this brings me back to Dr. Levine’s order. Since the Wolf administration has issued their COVID orders, we have complied. We even agreed to self-certify in order to open at 50%, and still we get told we have to close early. I’ve already debated on Facebook, I have already felt like breaking stuff, but it’s a fait accompli. We will cease on premise alcohol sales at 5 p.m. on Wednesday…but that doesn’t mean we cannot have fun on Tuesday.
So I say, let’s call out of work on Wednesday and have a safe, socially distanced party on Tuesday, November 24. To help to that end, we are bringing back $1 tacos! I don’t know what the tacos will be…who cares…its $1 tacos! We will have patio heaters going. It will be epic. I need to have you call out on Wednesday for our special lunch and toast. Since we cannot party Wednesday night, let’s do it Wednesday afternoon…we open at noon.
I am looking forward to seeing everyone at Round Guys. We will be doing a special 4 p.m. Facebook Live toast. I hope to see you all there.
Scott Rudich is the head brewer and co-owner of Round Guys Brewing in Lansdale, PA. Rudich is heavily involved in the local beer scene, and was awarded the Brewer Award at the 2013 StarChefs’ Philadelphia Rising Stars Gala. This opinion column is sponsored by Round Guys, and appears every Tuesday on North Penn Now. If you have any questions or comments, please email them to [email protected].
See also:
Round Guys: A Tale Of Two Seltzers
Round Guys: Kitchen Expansion Leads To Menu Overhaul
Round Guys: An Interview With Marcus Baskerville, The Man Behind The ‘Black Is Beautiful’ Initiative
Round Guys, Well Crafted Join National ‘Black Is Beautiful’ Collaborative Beer Initiative
Round Guys Keeps On Rockin’ In The Stream World
