Pints&union is taking a staycation this week, returning Tuesday 9 June.

This post has been updated to reflect Joe's decision to extend the staycation to June 8, which means we'll be reopening on the 9th of June.

At Facebook on Saturday night:

Starting today we are taking a break to clean, plan and revise May 23-June 9. While most were home in quarantine we have been hard at it since day one of this current challenge. We are stepping back to observe and rest and keep our staff and guests safe. THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR SUPPORT. We look forward to seeing you June 9 and share our new vision and extension of hospitality. Be safe everyone, Cheers.

I don't have much to add, apart from stressing to you, the reader, that the stress is very real, and our owners and staff need a break.

As noted previously, it isn't only flipping a business model overnight from dine-in to carry-out; it's also assuming the responsibilities of the LEE Initiative outreach to displaced restaurant industry workers. That's two separate businesses in one, for-profit and non-profit, working amid all the myriad uncertainties of the pandemic.

My own two cents: Joe's most important point herein is "stepping back to observe."

The past two weeks of restaurant reopenings has revealed a division (not unexpected, by the way) among customers: some eager to turn back the clock and dine in again, others who are not willing to do so for some time to come, and yet another grouping of folks who are waiting and watching -- observing, as it were.

Pints&union is in a position to do the same. It isn't yet clear what reopening will bring for the restaurant industry.

Profits? Losses? A spike in infections? A placid return to normality? Will pent-up demand be sustained at the present unemployment rate? How long will it take for the economy to return to pre-COVID levels? Will it ever?

Conversely, as my post today at Food & Dining Magazine suggests, the time for change is now -- whether micro or macro: Edibles & Potables: Tunde Wey’s radical thinking about restaurants.

Even I don't know exactly how Pints&union will resume operations, only that we will. Literally and figuratively, all the cards are on the table. Allow me to echo Joe by thanking you for your support, especially for the growler program. There are a few already poured that may be made available for perfectly legal "speakeasy bootleg" sales next week. Stay tuned.