where to patronize

[jadelennox]

Now that we're starting to be vaccinated and contemplating a future where I can go places! And sit at the outdoor table with my vaccinated friends! And have a food and maybe a glassele tea!

What restaurants around here have been respectful and careful with their employees' health? (Any of them? I know the restaurant business has been inherently dangerous, but there are ways a restaurant can be a dick and ways they can do the best anyone can under the circumstances, and I'd rather go to the latter.)

Comments

[lauradi7dw]

Cafe Barada (Lebanese cuisine) on Mass Ave at the corner of Dover is family run and I think they have been careful. There are four tables on the sidewalk.

[jadelennox]

Thank you! I like their food so that’s extra awesome.

[filing_davis]

I felt super impressed with Daddy Jones early on. I can’t remember but I think they committed to safety over sales very early, and without layoffs? Plus they were early to offer TP, masks? My memory is not great but they were early and community-focused.

[filing_davis]

Ok I went back and looked it up. Their FB on March 12 2020, which was the day I shut my doors for a year, they immediately posted (I’m paraphrasing) offering breakfast or lunch to families or children who had just lost access to hot meals at school. They got enough offers to help from the public to start a GoFundMe the next day.

March 13, they collectively decided to close and committed to pay staff full pay.

March 15, still closed, but the gave a shout out to Pennypackers, their competition.

March 17, they were early to “order at the window” pickup, for staff protection.

“ Please send a message to us if you know of families or children in need of food during day for the next couple of weeks. We can arrange for some simple meal pick ups for you.

Do not be scared to keep your family home or that your children will do without school lunch.

Send us a private message if you are in need. Thank you , Dimitra & the Daddy Jones Team.”

They were early, caring, careful and correct on some tough choices.

[kathmandu]

Down in the Central to Harvard range, Asmara, Life Alive, Mainely Burgers, and Dumpling House have all been good. They mostly used tables and chairs to create a barricade; customers come up to the barricade to pick up their order, and no further. One worker brings the bag up to the barricade. Workers already wearing masks when you arrive. Minimal contact, minimal proximity.

[jeffbyrnes]

I can highly recommend Spoke & Dave’s in Davis. Mary & her crew at Spoke have been ultra careful (still no indoor) at Spoke, and the Dave’s folks have been working really hard to keep their staff safe, yet remain open to serve the community.

Opa Opa decided to convert part of their parking lot into outdoor dining, which is pretty cool, and those chaps seem to be doing the right thing with masks during the whole thing.

Burren has a front _and_ back patio, which is pretty cool, and they're doing outdoor music now that the weather is warming.

[jducoeur]

Borderline "restaurant", and only from a customer POV, but I've been quite impressed by Bagelsaurus. They took a good deal of time off to figure out an appropriate plan, reworked the business seriously in order to provide a reasonably safe experience, and have been refining it ever since.