Friday, September 25 is the soft RE-opening for dining inside at NABC Pizzeria & Public House.

Trek to the Deck, 1999.

Think of it as a public service announcement. We did curbside at NABC on Saturday, and if I may say so myself, the Roundhouse was brilliant. Sunday was spent eating leftover pizza and bread sticks. I've emphasized one passage in bold.   

Facebook post 

Well, guess it’s that time of year again, ya know, the one where there was a pandemic & you haven’t had customers in your building for six months?!

Soft opening THIS Friday September 25th on the Pizzeria dining room side.

We will resume our regular carryout service as before meaning customers will call in an order, you’ll be quoted a pick up time only this time you’ll be required to wear a mask upon pick up.

We will continue to be a first come first serve operation with the exception of the “waiting room” being outside the building to encourage physical distancing.

DOORS OPEN at 11am THIS Friday September 25th 2020

PLEASE NOTE our hours of operation have changed for the time being:

Friday & Saturday LUNCH & dinner
11am - 9pm

Monday- Thursday dinner only
3pm - 9pm

Masks must be worn upon entry and only taken off while seated at your space please.

ALL employees will wear masks properly and continuously.

We will be very diligent about cleaning spaces especially after each use.

IF the allotted spaces fill to capacity we will get a cell phone number from you and ask that you wait outside the building.
We will call you as soon as a space is cleaned, sanitized and available!

Operating a restaurant during COVID-19 has been challenging to all of us. We are, thankfully, a popular independent, local, family owned & operated business. We all need each other to make this work.

Please be patient, kind, & respectful to one another. We are doing the best we can do under these circumstances.
Hand washing, mask wearing, & distancing is the key to all of our health.
Be safe & well during pandemic & cold&flu season

RECAP:
11-9 on the weekends Friday & Saturday

3-9 Monday-Thursday

Masks must be worn upon entry and only taken off while seated at your space please.

IF the allotted spaces fill to capacity we will get a cell phone number from you and ask that you wait outside the building.

Respect Yourself.

I'm just the beer guy, and so I can't speak for everyone at Pints&union, but it's a great feeling to know you're working for/with people who take public health seriously, who are NOT science doubters, and who are doing their very best to observe pandemic protocols, and to implement best practices for the benefit of customers and workers alike.

If a food service establishment's or bar's priorities are in the right place, it doesn't matter that these various governmental pandemic mandates lack the necessary enforcement mechanisms to dissuade miscreants from mayhem. You follow the mandates because it's the right thing to do in a public health emergency.

We all know some establishments aren't, and to be perfectly frank, I struggle mightily with the "code of silence" as traditionally observed by the food and drink sector pertaining to withholding comment about what occurs elsewhere in the hospitality business.

I appreciate those of you who have sent me accounts, photos and videos of incredibly unhealthy scenes at local eateries and bars. I applaud your candor and grasp of the issues.

However, I won't lie to you; there's nothing I can do to help. You might try informing your elected and appointed local government officials, although in all honesty they'll probably do little apart from kicking the can a bit further down the road. Regrettable, but true.

I know that there are no sure things in life. Perfection isn't attainable, but the object is to bust your ass pursuing it, and this is what Pints&union is doing with respect to dining and drinking indoors during a pandemic. I can attest to it.

Those of you who have no intention of visiting a restaurant or bar any time soon, you have my complete support; my own household still is doing curbside carry-out (Dragon Kings Daughter and Legacy Pizza and Bakery most recently), and because I'm extremely grateful to Pints&union for allowing me to do my work in the morning, and remotely from home whenever possible, I will not be shaming anyone else for refraining from old haunts until the pandemic is under control.

On the other hand, if you're looking for a community-minded, responsible place to have a sandwich and a drink, and you have not given Pints&union a try, please do. We're doing everything in our power to make the experience safe and enjoyable. Give us feedback, and let us know what you think about your visit.

(I have no ownership stake in Pints&union. As noted, I'm just the beer guy, and I didn't tell anyone else I was planning on writing this. COVID is real, and it's going to be with us for a while. We should be taking the virus seriously; what's more, we should be positively recognizing the efforts being made by those who DO accept their responsibilities toward this end. Thank you for your support.)

Open Arms: Indiana enthusiastically welcomes COVID-cuted Kentucky diners, drinkers.

"Duh" just doesn't do it justice. Not only that, but every now and then, 125% is the new 75%.

Some Louisville bars report losing business as Indiana competitors face less stringent restrictions, by Sara Sidery (WDRB)

Some Louisville restaurants say they're losing business to competitors across the river, as Indiana has less stringent restrictions on patrons.

Indiana is keeping bars and restaurants at 75% capacity for another month, but Kentucky establishments are still stuck at 50% and likely will be for a while.

Natural's Not in It.

I suppose it's time to update the scorecard. I believe there as yet are one or two eateries that have not reopened since the pandemic, but also have not announced a definitive closing.

ON THE DRAWING BOARD
Agave & Rye (former Hull & High Water, story below)
Monnik Beer Company (former Bank Street Brewhouse on Bank)
True North Coffee House (new ownership for Quills)

OPENED IN 2020
8th Street Pizza (Breakwater; reopening)
Board and You Bistro & Wine Bar
Legacy Pizza & Bakery
Recbar 812
Fistful of Ale (nanobrewery/beer bar extension of pre-existing Fistful of Tacos)

CLOSED IN 2020
Longboard's Taco & Tiki
Primo's Delicatessen
Roadrunner Kitchen
The Standard (will function as event space)

What have I forgotten? Meanwhile, here's the Agave & Rye story.

Agave & Rye taking over former Hull & High Water space in New Albany at WLKY

Less than a year after opening its first Louisville location, Agave & Rye has already signed another lease to expand the concept into Southern Indiana, Louisville Business First reports.

The Cincinnati-based restaurant concept opened its Baxter Avenue eatery in February, and is now planning to open its second area location at the former Hull & High Water space at 324 E. Main St. in New Albany, Indiana.

Agave & Rye tweeted the news on Friday, along with the news of its new Rookwood, Ohio restaurant opening in September, and another location in Troy, Ohio, planned for November 2020. The new eateries would brand's total locations to seven, with four already-established restaurants in Louisville, Lexington and Covington, Kentucky, and Liberty Township, Ohio.

Why Don't We Do It In The Road?

David Thrasher has been engaged by the city (UEA?) to restore the Coca-Cola "ghost sign" on the east-facing brick wall of the building currently occupied by The Root, above the roof line of Pints&union.

For the next two photos, one from New Albany and the second from Los Angeles, file under: symmetry.

Foreshadow much?

It's a tale of three parking spaces. If they can be used for one thing, then ... well, you know.

As for dining in the street (well, amid the disposable parking spaces) as a pandemic-evasion tactic?

It's happening throughout America and the remainder of the planet, and you can read more here.

The caption of the photo from the Los Angeles Times reads, "Brandon and Rose Astudillo of Glendale eat dinner at Baracoa Cuban Cafe in Atwater Village in a new outdoor seating area that occupies three parking spaces."

I can't make the subtle hint any broader, can I?

Previously:

Let's Do It (Let's Fall in Love).

Let's Do It (Let's Fall in Love).

With formerly restrictive alcoholic beverage laws being relaxed, and from a recognition that outdoor living with social distancing is a way of coping with COVID, it would take almost nothing in terms of resources and expenditures for just about any city in America to enable experimentation like this.

Look at those parking spaces, finally used for a useful purpose. Local authorities need only establish broad boundaries and get out of the way, as state government already has done v.v. those alcohol floor plan laws.

The other day I was asked if I "hate" New Albany.

I answered no.

What I "hate" is that so many New Albanians can't so much as imagine things that occur in the outside world, like this. Quite literally what you see in the photo above is happening all across the country and the planet, thanks to the pandemic and the ability of city fathers to think on their feet.

Why not here in New Albany?

After all, Los Angeles is doing it.

L.A.-area parking spots have become dining areas during the pandemic. Will it last? by Laura J. Nelson (LA Times)

 ... The pandemic has forced cities and businesses to be more nimble and experimental, and allows them to think about the logistics and trade-offs in real time: "What’s going to bring us more customers? Is it that we have a place to sit outside, or that we have nearby parking?"

Jeffersonville's been doing it for quite a while, and now so is Louisville. Considering Louisville's mayor has been routinely wrong of late, here's one he can hit out of the damn park -- and does.

Louisville Metro says restaurants can expand to on-street dining to help survive pandemic, by Dahlia Ghabour (Courier Journal)

“As we envision a day beyond the pandemic, we want our eclectic Louisville eateries to be part of that future, which is why Louisville Metro has been seeking new ways to help them stay open throughout the restrictions,” Mayor Greg Fischer said in a news release. “The new on-street dining option will give restaurants the chance to serve more customers in a safe manner while complying with the state restrictions that are necessary to stem the spread of COVID-19.”

Why must easy things be so hard?

Don't Be A Dick.

The Irish Rover took to Facebook on Friday evening to shine a light on the 800-gorilla in the room.

Speaking personally, this sentence stands out: "We hate having to be the mask police."

No kidding. If local and state government possessed an iota of cojones, and they don't, then we'd have a bit of help via enforced mandates, and not have to take time from our own work to apply the government's toothless edicts for it.

But that's the reality of two-party political cowardice.

The Rover's testimony is first, and then a link to a very useful article titled, "Why the libertarians are foolish about face masks."

Business was pretty good today despite the weather, and we saw a lot of regulars, including some we hadn’t seen since the shutdown....a great day, right?

No. Today sucked.

Numerous guests ignored posted mask policy (including seating themselves without masks and creating a scene when asked to leave), and many refused to comply with polite requests to wear the masks when staff approached to serve them.

This isn’t about people who forget to put the masks on...we truly appreciate all of you who are trying to learn the new normal!

We’re talking about people who are openly defiant. Who stuff the mask into a pocket or zip it into a purse. Who laugh and say they’ll “try.”

We hate having to be the mask police. It’s exhausting (and costly...one table walked out cursing at us, and without paying for their drinks). But we are trying to protect the health of our staff and guests.

What’s really upsetting, though, is the complete lack of concern for the health of the people trying to serve you. It’s demoralizing and dehumanizing, and it’s really hurts.

We love the restaurant business, but this is soul crushing. And it has us wondering why we are working so hard to keep going.

There is an incident recounted on local social media that may or may not be true, but it perfectly captures the attitude we encountered so many times today:

A woman enters an empty coffee shop, and, when asked by the barista to put on a mask, she replies:

“Why? There’s no one here”

The article's from the Financial Times, and you may not be able to read it without registering. In the event, allow my sole excerpt to tell the tale.

Why the libertarians are foolish about face masks, by Henry Mance (FT)

Wearing coverings is finally mandatory in England in shops as well as on public transport

Wearing a mask is an act of trust. It does not protect you — it protects others, and their masks protect you. The effect is likely to be small, but it is a sign of shared endeavour, an essential part of getting through this crisis. Just as no one is an atheist in a foxhole, no one is a libertarian in a pandemic.

Cherish.

My posts are being titled after songs. There may or may not be any connection with the content. After 14,986 blog posts, a little freshening up might help.

---

I posted earlier today at Food & Dining Magazine.

Edibles & Potables: “The restaurant remains a symbol of freedom.”

... For those who’ve always found their third spaces in eateries and watering holes, the months since have been challenging. There was, and remains, a palpable sense of confusion and loss – for a lifestyle, yes, although not only that – existing alongside similar sentiments pertaining to the pandemic in general.

Speaking only for my own household, it was not difficult to organize grocery pickups, head into the kitchen and begin cooking, augmented by occasional curbside carryouts. But something big had gone missing.

I believe this is true. Something Marty Rosen wrote in his column two weeks ago keeps coming back to me.

Letter from the Editor: Our adaptive carry-out and cooking routines feel both new and familiar

 ... There were times, early in my adult life, when cooking was normal – and dining in a restaurant was a rare and special thing. If people were flush, we might dine out once a week – and always based on a keen awareness of price, value, and quality. When I was a kid, it was a memorable treat to go to the Dizzy Whizz (well, really, it still is). Going to a sit-down restaurant was a strange and exotic experience. Even when I reached adulthood, dining at any “serious” restaurant – a place that took reservations, perhaps, or a place that had a wine list (gasp) was a rare and intimidating thing.

We'll eventually return to a version of what we had before. I'm doubtful it will be the same, though. It may be heresy to say this given my line of work, but I've greatly enjoyed cooking at home the past few pandemic months. The times we've gone the curbside carryout route have felt special. When we sit down in a restaurant again, some day, it's going to involve a great deal of gratitude.

Really. 

Legacy Pizza & Bakery aims to include dine-in service by September, so read all about it.

On Monday, Legacy Pizza & Bakery (1001 Vincennes) issued a progress report on Facebook. It's a family business doing it the old-school way, with great food and hard work.

Not a misprint, because Legacy Pizza and Bakery has OPENED in New Albany (April 23)

The short version: business has been very good and the Doerings are embarking on phase two, which is finishing the interior for dine-in service. This will require a shortening of business hours for the next six weeks, until the remodeling is complete.

Opening a carryout-only pizzeria during a pandemic may have seemed crazed at the time, but if you've had Legacy's food, it's obvious that the quality can't be denied. What's more, being open for pizza at the same time as two of the city's biggest pizza purveyors were closed -- Wick's (permanently, it appears) and NABC Pizzeria & Public House until August (we think) -- is savvy, to put it simply. 

Follow the Facebook link to read the entire statement. Here's the cheat sheet:

Our temporary hours will be Wednesday-Saturday, 12-9, Sunday 3-8. We do very little business before 3 on Sundays, and Tuesdays are our slowest day of the week and being closed back to back on Mondays and Tuesdays will allow us to complete bigger projects and will not disrupt service.

Sunday Fact Fest, Episode 04: Robin's right. Some Louisville (and SoIN) restaurants are not taking the COVID-19 pandemic as seriously as they should."

The link:

Robin Garr’s Taj Palace review at LEO: Great food and pandemic precautions, by me at Food & Dining Magazine.

My Saturday morning post at Food & Dining Magazine came about because Robin Garr did something that writers should strive always to do. His words at LEO Weekly stood me up, slapped me down, and said to me what needed to be said.

Restaurant and bar owners who aren't tasking the pandemic seriously are helping to put others at risk.

The majority of media mavens covering the restaurant and bar industry aren't holding them accountable, including me. Maybe it's time for this to change; I'm not sure it even matters given the culture of abject denial hereabouts, but what I know is that denial can only make it worse. What I can do about it as just one person isn't yet clear to me. In the meantime, it makes me even more grateful to work for people who GET IT.

My words:

 ... Billy Joel was right; honesty is such a lonely word, inside or outside “the business.” Speaking as one who owned a restaurant and brewery for 25 years, your peers function as a professional family. We stay together, and we take care of our own. There are times when some of one’s brothers and sisters err, and the understandable instinct is to keep it in the family. I’ve done so in the past, and on some occasions, I’ve come to regret it. Telling the truth might have forestalled subsequent, larger problems for everyone.

Little white lies, fudging, averting the gaze, looking the other way? They’re incompatible with the duties of journalists, analysts and reviewers, for whom credibility is dependent on being truthful. It doesn’t mean click bait, cultivating confrontation or trolling, although there might be occasional heated discussions with the folks who sell advertising.

That’s where experience comes to the fore; been there, seen that, able to synthesize information, and capable of saying what needs to be said – factually, sans hyperbole. It’s neither calling out, nor cancel culture. It’s very much about rewarding the positive performers, not the negative deniers.

I’ll shut up now. Kudos to Taj Palace, a restaurant I’ve yet to patronize but intend to visit soon for carryout, now that Robin has explained to me exactly what I need to know: “Taj Palace takes tasty Indian fare and pandemic safety seriously.”

Robin's words:

There’s no way to put this but bluntly: I don’t think some Louisville restaurants are taking the COVID-19 pandemic as seriously as they should. Why the worry?

You probably saw the news item about 11 Louisville businesses that got inspection blasts from Metro Public Health & Wellness over the Fourth of July weekend for failing to follow COVID-19 safety guidelines.

This matters: When I’m deciding where to dine during this pandemic, I want to have confidence that the restaurant’s management doesn’t slack off on health and safety.

Here's a breathtakingly novel thought: "We wear (a mask) for you, please wear one for us."

And this.

And this.

Three different craft brewing entities, but a central point: mask up and make it easier for them to stay in business.

Or, easier for us, right here in New Albany.

But do local operators in New Albany share a universal view of science? My guess, and it's just that -- a guess -- is the answer might surprise you.

In other news ...

Typically toothless city council mask resolution proves that even a pandemic can't compel New Albany’s Democrats to actually GOVERN.

Pints&union begins to reopen today, 4 to midnight. Mask up or miss out.

Pints&union is slowly reopening for dine-in service. We're also still doing curbside (menu here).

There was a small, invitation-only "soft" evening on Friday, and the general public can return as of today at 4:00 p.m.

Two things for the moment, understanding that as we move forward, there likely will be much adaptation.

First up, Nick Vaughn reports on the Friday night vibe.

Tastes, Sights, and Sounds from Pints' Reopening, by Nick Vaughn (The Aggregate)

Pints&union hosted their soft reopening on Friday, July 10th from 4 - 10 PM. While the full menu and draft list were familiar, Pints' reopening also came with new COVID-19 precautions to ensure the safety of patrons.

My good friend (and Best Man in my upcoming wedding) Andrew and I were lucky enough to be invited to the soft reopening. We both were ecstatic and extremely grateful for the invitation. It had been quite some time since we last sat at the bar and enjoyed the unique tastes, sights, and sounds that Pints has to offer ...

Second, because you may not have seen this passage within my ON THE AVENUES column Thursday ...

ON THE AVENUES: Mask up, folks. Pints&union is coming back, and we're taking precautions.

... our new general manager Steven Cavanaugh explains how this new and evolving era is going to begin.

Most importantly: Masks will be REQUIRED to enter Pints&union, to order at the bar, and to move about the pub. Essentially anytime you’ll be away from your table, we’ll require a mask to be worn.

---

PINTS & UNION REOPENING OUTLINE

Pints & union will be reopening to the public on Saturday, July 11th at 4:00 p.m.

While the charity work we’ve been able to accomplish in the time our doors have been closed has been some of the most rewarding and transformative experiences of our lives, we could not be more excited to welcome our guests back into the Public House you’ve come to know and love in our nearly two years of operation.

This being said, there are a few new procedures to be aware of that we’re implementing to ensure the highest level of safety for our guests and for our staff as possible.

For starters, masks will be REQUIRED to enter the building, to order at the bar, and to move about the pub. Essentially anytime you’ll be away from your table, we’ll require a mask to be worn.

Being a public house, we and all who enter have a duty to do our part in helping keep the public safe. We’ll be doing a temperature screen and taking information from one person in each party for contract tracing purposes. We’ll be self-imposing some capacity restrictions that go a bit further than the state currently allows by properly distancing all tables and bar stools, as well as prohibiting any standing-room-only areas.

Our neighbors at The Root have been kind enough to let us use their patio for dinner service from 5 to 10 PM on the weekends as an extension of our small outdoor seating area to help combat the capacity issue.

All tables will have a “drop zone” where fresh food will be placed by our staff and dirty dishes can be placed by guests for our team to pick up. We’ll have bottles of sanitizer provided by Starlight Distillery at each table for guests to use while they’re here, and are taking several other behind-the-scenes precautions such as air purifiers, ionizers in our AC unit, and new ceiling fans to constantly clean and circulate fresh air.

The whole team is beyond exciting to get our doors open again and see some familiar, albeit masked, faces! We’ve got a new dinner menu to show off as well as some incredible stories to tell behind some of our new products. We’ll see you all soon!

---

Let's close with this latter to the editor of The Journal, coverage area southeastern Colorado near the Four Corners. Says it all, in my view.

No shoes, no shirt, no mask, no service

Colorado has many laws and regulations to protect the public. Since 1997, vehicles must have proof of liability insurance. I can find no evidence of serious protest about this law.

It is a state law that motorcycle riders under age 18 must wear helmets. There was much protest about universal helmet laws; this was the compromise.

“No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service” was a response by businesses in the 1960s and 1970s to keep long-haired hippies out of stores and restaurants. 

There are no federal or state laws to this effect. However, there are laws that allow businesses to make their own regulations. This phrase has become an accepted norm. No contagion results from disobeying these examples.

If I am parked next to your car that has no proof of insurance, I am not exposing you or being exposed to anything lethal. If you pass me riding your motorcycle without a helmet, your exposure to harm is greater than mine.

Until January this year, we gave little thought to “No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service.” Scientific information says wearing masks can keep you and me from being exposed to COVID-19. Businesses can initiate this as a regulation.

Common sense suggests that If there is no choice, we will wear masks. We all will be safer if businesses work together to make “No Shirt, No Shoes, No Masks, No Service ” the norm in Montezuma County.

MB McAfee, Lewis

FOR THE DRAWER: My hot take for the day, to be filed away for later.

In the Soviet Union, during those long decades of heavy-handed state censorship, there was a saying among writers.

It was "this one’s for the drawer," or "I'm writing for the drawer," meaning there was no hope whatever that what was being written would be suitable for publication. The words were written in the knowledge that they'd be consigned to the desk drawer, where maybe later -- most often, after the writer was dead -- something might change and his or her words would be read and appreciated.

Samizdat was the practice of illegal publication; recopied by hand, mimeographed and later photo-copied. These illegal publications often were anonymous by necessity, with readership small but often more widespread than might be assumed. It's almost a quaint notion in our current, fractured age, this idea that truth mattered.

Maybe I'll try writing for the drawer, too. Blog readership is down, so maybe I can hide in plain site just for once. After all self-censorship wears on a man.

Here goes.

There's a pandemic going on. If you're in the local indie food and drink business and you're not taking masks and social distancing seriously, you're writing off a big portion of the potential customer base in order to appease a smaller percentage of loudmouthed know-nothings.

I wish there was sufficient unity of purpose among business owners to actually call out the scofflaws honestly, and openly. It won't happen, though. Speaking only for myself during this time, it's a tremendous crisis of conscience for me. I'm tempted to walk around town like Diogenes, asking service industry people, "Why are acting as though the aim is to bring everyone down with you?"

Do you read the news -- or is the cognitive dissonance too great, and those lies you're telling yourself too persuasive? Your optics are horrendous, and your acting supremely bad.

Not only are you embarrassing all of us, but ignoring reality and pretending like the pandemic isn't still with us is setting the stage for bad things to happen to the rest of the segment. If you're dismissing public health, are you also chucking food safety and other hygienic standards into the bin?

Yes, it's true; narcissistic bad actors have always been with us. But they're glaringly obvious at present, and to be honest, I resent it a little more each day as so many of you reject science in favor of voodoo.

Well, that felt good.

Now into the drawer it goes, where no will see it until much, much later.

Shut up and mask up -- but first, this Twitter user documents sweet freedom in a restaurant setting.

@libbyjones715 wrote these words on Twitter.

---

Welcome to the Freedom Cafe! We trust you to make your own choices if you want to wear a face mask. And, in the same spirit of individual liberty, we allow our staff to make their own choices about the safety procedures they prefer to follow as they prepare and serve your food.

We encourage employees to wash their hands after using the bathroom, but understand that some people may be allergic to certain soaps or may simply prefer not to wash their hands. It is not our place to tell them what to do.

We understand that you may be used to chicken that has been cooked to 165 degrees. We do have to respect that some of our cooks may have seen a meme or a YouTube video saying that 100 degrees is sufficient, and we do not want to encroach on their beliefs.

Some of our cooks may prefer to use the same utensils for multiple ingredients, including ingredients some customers are allergic to. That is a cook’s right to do so.

Some servers may wish to touch your food as they serve it. There is no reason that a healthy person with clean hands can’t touch your food. We will take their word for it that they are healthy and clean.

Water temperature and detergent are highly personal choices, and we allow our dishwashing team to decide how they’d prefer to wash the silverware you will put in your mouth.

Some of you may get sick, but almost everyone survives food poisoning. We think you’ll agree that it’s a small price to pay for the sweet freedom of no one ever being told what to do - and especially not for the silly reason of keeping strangers healthy.

New Albanian Brewing Company looks to reopen on or around the 1st of August.

The post below drew almost 500 likes on Facebook and generated 80-odd comments, almost all of them positive. When you've been around 33 years, making NABC among the oldest continually operating pub businesses in town, that's the way it works.

While I'm no longer a part of NABC, make no mistake: I want them to succeed, and I'm confident they will. After all, 25 of those years included me, and I'm quite proud of what we accomplished in making New Albany a better place.

---

June 30, 2020

The New Albanian Brewing Co. Pizzeria & Pub (aka Sportstime Pizza) was TEMPORARILY closed in late March due to the Covid-19 virus pandemic. We had hoped for better news by now regarding the spread, testing, or vaccinations of this virus but this does not seem to be the case. We are still not satisfied that opening our doors would be in the best interest of our employees or the public. We are all facing unprecedented circumstances and this has not been easy to make business decisions but we are doing our best.

As such, we are announcing that NABC will remain closed for the month of July. Our plan, as of today, is to REOPEN on or around the first of AUGUST.

As you may be aware, we have been working on repairs and maintenance, cleaning, reorganizing and more cleaning since our shut down. Two of the bigger projects have already been completed during this time...a much-needed new roof for the entire complex as well as a new exhaust hood for our pizza oven! There has been some painting in both dining rooms and we have more projects planned during July such as adding a hand washing station in the Arcade, updating sanitation safety measures, updates to our employee handbook, printing new menus that will be easily wipeable, relocating the Gifts Store, installing new thermostats, installing two additional point-of-sale systems to provide less overlap of screen touching by front of house staff, and plans on how to layout the dining areas to provide distance and/or barriers of some sort between diners.

Opening will begin slowly for us not only to control the flow of customer traffic intelligently, safely and realistically, but because it will require quite a bit of time for us to ramp back up to full production of both food and beer. The brewery will take months to get back on track from ingredients ordered to brewing to tank time to tapping. Getting to our normal operational hours will take more time than anyone desires, but we feel it is the best course of action.

We are incredibly grateful for everyone's support, patience and understanding during these times. Please check our Facebook page for any new or updated information near the end of July.

Be safe. Wear a mask if you can. Wash your hands thoroughly and often. Stay physically distant, not socially distant. Hope to see you all soon!

Much Love,
The New Albanian Sisters
AMY&Kate

Anthony Bourdain would have been 64 today. Let's remember him as a journalist.

I've laid out this one at Food & Dining Magazine, where I recommend you read it.

"Anthony Bourdain's genius was not in the kitchen. His genius was in knowing which side he was on"

There is little doubt, at least in my mind, where Bourdain would be standing this year if he had not left us.

A new relocation destination for 8th Street Pizza: Breakwater.

Get the lowdown on 8th Street Pizza at Facebook, and observe the above post earlier today. As of last year, 8th Street Pizza was to have relocated (that's right, from 8th Street) to 141 E. Main.

Homelessness, 8th Street Pizza's move, Clean Socks Hope's mission and an addendum by Exit 0.

However, the building fell through for undisclosed reasons, and now it appears the pizzeria is headed for the short-lived Bliss Artisan retail space at the Breakwater residential development.

From December 28, 2019.

Sadly, Bliss Artisan is closed. The franchise lasted ten months at The Breakwater.

"The not-honest operators are making sick people come to work, refusing to offer paid time off or pay for testing, and that's gonna get people killed."

Journalist Amy McCarthy (@aemccarthy on Twitter) is the editor of Eater Dallas and Eater Houston. I've joined together a recent Twitter thread of hers to produce this narrative. As a pretext to McCarthy's words, the Washington Post comments on the escalating pace of hospitalizations in Texas.

Health officials in Texas reported a record number of hospitalizations on Wednesday — 2,793 — in a 66 percent increase since Memorial Day, an analysis by The Washington Post shows. The daily death toll also increased slightly in the past few days. Thirty-three coronavirus-related fatalities were announced Wednesday, making the total number of deaths statewide 2,062. Texas began to reopen on April 20 after roughly two weeks under a stay-at-home order. Cases have been trending upward since then.

McCarthy takes it from here.

It is extremely extremely fucked up that there is no requirement for restaurants to close after someone on staff tests positive for COVID-19. I am hearing so many (hard to verify) rumors about staff testing positive and working without a mask.

When you ask the owners about it, they either lie or tell you that person had no contact with guests.

We know that restaurants (and diners) are not following social distancing guidelines. Being in a restaurant right now is terrifying, even if they are "doing it right." The honest operators are shutting down! They're paying thousands and thousands of dollars to sanitize and install UV lights in their HVAC.

AND IT'S STILL NOT ENOUGH.

The not-honest operators are making sick people come to work, refusing to offer paid time off or pay for testing, and that's gonna get people killed. Right now, in Texas, there's no mechanism for punishing those operators.

If (Governor Greg) Abbott and his fuckboy cronies had their way, these businesses would be fully indemnified from ANY consequences of spreading coronavirus.

The worst part about it all is that so many of these businesses are in such a precarious financial position that they HAVE TO take today's pennies at the risk of tomorrow's dollars.

Because our fuckshit government won't do anything to help.

And this postscript:

I am worried sick about it, literally. These establishments can't survive if we're all dead from this fucking virus in six months.

Let's pack them in like sardines, shall we?

That's why it's so very hard to decide the whats, whens and whys.

Hoosiers for Dan Borsch for Louisville Metro Council.

I suppose my first awareness of Dan Borsch was during the run-up to the pre-ordained Ohio River Bridges boondoggle.

We've actually met only a handful of times, if that. But I've always admired Dan's spot-on politics from afar, as well as his success in the restaurant and bar business. If you can make it THERE, in THAT unforgiving line of work, you can make it anywhere.

In this case, I hope Dan makes it to Louisville Metro Council. Here's one of his recent stump messages.

Right on, brother.

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Dan Borsch for Louisville Metro Council

When I took over a neighborhood diner 12 years ago I had no idea the education I was about to receive about society and how cities operate. I had led a privileged life attending the best schools in Louisville through the Traditional program at Male and then on to universities and professional jobs with a few stints in the service industry during high school and college, but only for spending money, not as a career. Taking over a worn-down diner in the most diverse neighborhood in Louisville opened my eyes to the everyday struggle so many of our neighbors go through, a struggle that is mostly a product of the system we have created.

Unless you see for yourself on a daily basis how hard it is to succeed in the world today for those without connections and/or professional backgrounds, and how the stresses of poverty shapes your outlook on life, it is nearly impossible to understand just how rigged our system is. Too many see no path to success. Too many have not had the access to opportunity they should have. Too many have had interactions with police that are degrading, insulting and sadly much worse. Too many have had work experiences that devalued them. I see the scars of these policy decisions too often. I see the product of a lack of respect for the black and working class population daily.

Our community has been focused on subsidizing luxury hotels and sprawl while we have ignored the suffering and lack of investment that surrounds us. We have not focused on the basics of good governing, instead choosing to focus on mega projects and splashy ribbon cuttings. I saw these failings firsthand and have for well over the last decade tried to educate my friends while speaking out against what I saw as a misplaced priorities in our community. I became persona non grata with some of the powers that be in our community for daring to speak out against the Bridges project, the Omni Hotel and convention center, the wastefulness of how we spend transportation money and where we choose to spend it, Urban Services District, 4th Street Live, the Urban Government Center, TIF districts.... the list goes on. I saw that we were not investing in areas of our city where the alleys and abandoned properties were piled with waste, where the schools had not been renovated in decades, where the sidewalks were not passible, where the corner store was boarded up or bulldozed into a vacant lot. I went before the Metro Council and advocated for a $15 minimum wage. I went to hearings and meetings to fight for changes. I filed open records requests to hold people accountable. But I failed to succeed in persuading the leadership in Louisville to change. The establishment saw a façade of success and were insulated from the pain that too many live with daily.

I saw it in the faces of my customers whose luxury dining out experience after the first of the month is a neighborhood diner. I felt it in the rage some had when they felt slighted or mistreated as a guest. I knew it in conversations with cooks, servers, and managers over the years about the life they led and while discussing their aspirations and dreams. Even though we grew up in the same city, we lived a world apart. No amount of mentoring and advice could break through the tough façade that so many have erected to protect themselves. I saw too many that had given up hope that they could move up in life and be successful in society. Bouncing from job to job with no hope for the future. I saw firsthand how the drug epidemic has ravished our society. How great people devolved into hard core addicts. I have seen the struggling mom fighting through treatment so she can once again see her children. The customers that were strung out and the ones that used my restrooms to shoot up.

I wish I could have done more, but life gets in the way of the best of intentions. We are reaping what we have sowed, and the only way forward is to look in the mirror and realize that if we don’t change the system in meaningful ways, we will not change the outcome we are getting today. When the FORBES 400 controls MORE WEALTH than the entire black community, we have FAILED. When our DEVELOPMENT FOCUS is based on SUBSIDIZING CORPORATIONS, we have FAILED. When our EDUCATION SYSTEM succeeds for a FRACTION OF OUR CHILDREN, we have FAILED. When we have THOUSAND OF HOMELESS AND ADDICTED LIVING ON OUR STREETS, we have FAILED. When we have TWO SYSTEMS OF JUSTICE, we have FAILED. When we DISRESPECT A CLASS OF CITIZENS AND MILITARIZE OUR POLICE, we have FAILED. When we have a SYSTEM THAT DOESN'T PROVIDE EQUAL OPPORTUNITY AND PATH TO SUCCESS, we have FAILED. We must change and we must accept that THE CURRENT SYSTEM IS NOT SUSTAINABLE. We have many tough decisions ahead of us, but I believe we can change the path we are on and that we have been awaken from our slumber. The façade has been pulled away and the rotting structure exposed. Justice Brandeis wrote that the best disinfectant is sunlight, we must shine the light on a broken system and recognize it for what it is, a failure.

Now is the time to rebuild the city, and country, we deserve where everyone has the opportunities we read about and dreamed of. We are all in this together.