The first thing I want to say before I explain what is going on here at Barnacle Billy's is that I love our customers from out of state. Someone got the message in my last entry in an email to me that I did not like people from Massachusetts. She went on to say that my exclusivity with people from Massachusetts contaminating Maine was unfair – in so many words. I don't know how she interpreted what I wrote to mean any of the things I just mentioned. If she felt that way then maybe others did too? I just want to say that I try to explain what is going on around here, the mood of the area sometimes, the rules, what we are doing and include things I think you might be interested in if we are lucky enough to entice you up here as a patron. I do not harbor any animosity towards individuals from Massachusetts. Some of these people are my best friends and our most loyal customers. Nor do I feel that it's just people from Massachusetts who are bringing the Covid-19 virus into Maine. Hell, Mainers leaving the state can do just as good a job bringing the virus in as can anybody who might be in contact with the virus. So, please, whatever you might think of me, know that I am very appreciative of anyone who dines at or from our restaurants and know that without you, all of you from everywhere, I would not have a business. For me, it's the people that make this the business the business that I love so much. And I have to say that most of them are from Massachusetts!
Memorial Day weekend will soon be upon us. We are still in the Governor's Phase 1 of the reopening process for Maine with an uncertain opening future, knowing that much depends on the spread of the Covid-19 virus. Therefore, we will still be continuing with takeout through the weekend. We will be open on Thursday, May 21st at 11 AM and close takeout at 8 PM, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We will be open on Monday, Memorial Day, at 11 AM and close at 7:00 PM. We will be closed on Tuesday, May 26th, and Wednesday, May 27th, opening again for takeout only on Thursday, May 28th at 11 AM (closing at 8 PM) through Sunday, May 30th. We will close Sunday night at 7 PM.
We plan to open during Phase 2 of the Governor's plan on June 4th. At that time we will also have inside seating as well as much outdoor seating. The menu will change a bit. And we will offer at least one site at Barnacle Billy's, Etc. in the mix. That site will be the patio in the garden at Etc. It's beautiful in the garden right now as the tulips are in full bloom.
We haven't worked out all the details of how we are going to change when June 4th rolls around. Takeout will still be the number one source for food items. We are still not sure of how we are going to do table service. But we will have less tables in the dinning room, deck, patio, upper patio and, what we call the garage, at Barnacle Billy's original. And we will have the garden patio at Etc., as previously mentioned. The reason I can't give you all the details is because I want to make sure that our customers will be safe in the physical arrangement, that our patrons will feel safe and that our employees will feel comfortable serving in, what they should feel, will be a completely safe environment. I can't know that until the setup is complete. That won't happen until after the weekend. Although, we do have a plan in place to execute.
Takeout is not our best business model. But we are learning new things that we never expected to learn that will help us moving forward when everything gets back to normal. It's certainly a challenge. But I really believe that we will be better prepared to serve the public when we get to the end. And that will include my favored people from Massachusetts!
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