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Newsy Nuggets: Treading lightly

Written By Scott Joseph On September 28, 2020

Tap Room note

  • Despite Gov. Ron DeSantis announcing Friday: “Everybody in the pool, the water’s fine” (I’m paraphrasing), most restaurateurs are preferring to dip a toe first before diving into the deep end of questionably murky water. (I believe I’ve sufficiently overused that analogy.)

The Tap Room at Dubsdread posted a note to its guests on its Facebook page Friday that read, “Even though restaurants have been given the green light to go back to 100% capacity, we have decided out of an abundance of caution and respect for our guests’ safety to continue with fewer tables inside while utilizing our adjacent banquet room for extra social distancing seating.”

Greg Allowe of Delaney’s Tavern said his SoDo restaurant would start lifting the restrictions in phases of the next week and evaluate. “We respect what the governor is doing but we want to make sure our guests and staff are safe,” he wrote in a text message.

Denny Tornatore, owner of Tornatore’s Pizzeria & Cafe, also said his College Park restaurant would “ease into it.” “As much as we could use the money we don’t feel safe enough jumping back in.”

Comments to Friday’s article announcing the lifting of restrictions supported both sides of the issue. Some people said they were glad to see everything open back up, while others said they would be less likely to go to a restaurant that was operating at 100 percent of its prepandemic capacity.

I’d like to say the commenters all got along, ahem, swimmingly, but there were some rancorous exchanges.

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  • Knife & Spoon’s opening date at the Ritz-Carlton Grande Lakes Resort is Oct. 7.
  • As expected, Luma on Park has closed (though some of us held out hope that the initial announcement that the popular Park Avenue restaurant could not reach an agreement with its landlord was just a negotiating tactic). Watch for Luma Maybe or Maybe Not on Park to open on a future date.
  • Russell’s on Lake Ivanhoe has opened. House specialties include herb and honey crusted rack of lamb; roasted swordfish with creamy saurel sauce; and crispy duck confit.
  • Bahama Breezes are featuring Rumaway Mondays through Oct. 12 featuring virtual Caribbean concerts. What you do is order a Rumbtoberfest Party Pack for Two for $40, add on a cocktail or three, then tune in to the concert at 7 p.m. on Facebook Live. JC2 is the band for Sept. 28.
  • What the Chuck, a burgery from the folks at Tennessee Truffle, plans to open softly inside Sanford’s Henry’s Depot Culinary Collective.
  • Due Amici has closed its College Park restaurant after one year, albeit one helluva tough year. The space has been taken up by the (an?) Original Anthony’s Pizzeria.
  • If you’ve ever been in a 7-Eleven you may have noticed a hot box with something round inside, something that looks like it might be made out of some sort of dough and is topped with a glistening yellow substance. Turns out those are pizzas, and 7-Eleven is giving them away, because honestly, who would buy one?

No, seriously. On Sunday, Oct. 4, customers who order through the convenience store’s 7NOW app can get a free pizza or reasonable facsimile for pickup or delivery. I’ve read through the company’s press release on this and I can’t figure it out – there’s mention of the possibility of a small basket fee, whatever the hell that is. But if this is important to you, click this link and follow the instructions to download the app and enter the promotional code.

And keep in mind that 7-Eleven stocks other essential items. Pepto Bismol comes immediately to mind.

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