We started our takeout business on May 8th, a Friday. I was surprised how busy we were. In fact, I couldn't believe it. We had a rush for an hour and a half between 5:30 PM and 7:00 PM that was just non-stop. It died out around 7:15 PM. We continued getting orders after that time. But it wasn't as crazy as it was before.
The next day, Saturday, May 9th, was fairly busy but not like it was on Friday. On Saturday we were prepared for a big push. My father always told me; “Never prepare for a bad day of business.” With the weather we were thinking it would be dead. I had the same feeling in the morning when the snow was flying and the wind was blowing the green leaves off the trees! But the business was fairly steady. I was very pleased. We aren't doing nearly what we would be doing if this were a regular season. But that's okay for now. We have a cash flow, which we wouldn't have had otherwise, we are bringing more of our employees back and we are in operation. The best thing, for me, is that we are seeing some of my favorite patrons coming back. It's not like I'm having long conversations with them as I would during a normal season. But at least they are coming back. You don't really know what you have sometimes until it's gone. I'm already missing last year.
When I decided that we would have to get into takeout mode, I stressed to the management staff that it's more important than ever to maintain a safe working environment for our employees, our customers and to make sure it looks like we are doing a great job in the safety department in our patron's eyes. I think all our managers felt that way anyway. I consider my crew to be some of the most intelligent people with an extra dose of common sense. To think that they could pull all this off so easily and so quickly was certainly extremely satisfying to me. When you have good people, like our managers, it's comforting to know that they stand behind you when you really need them. And they did that. Since we started serving people on Friday, every employee has been wearing a face mask, keeping safe distances, wearing surgical gloves, washing hands frequently and taking the safety thing very seriously. It's been a great pleasure to watch everyone in action. I have been getting complements multiple times a day on this. I have to admit that I don't deserve the compliments as much as my crew does. They truly make me look good. And I am so appreciative.
For those of you who made the first trip to Barnacle Billy's this weekend for the start of the 2020 season, I want to thank you for your good faith and patronage. I so appreciate your support through these troubled times. And, after all, we could not do this without you. From the bottom of my heart, again, thank you so very much!