GREENFIELD — A local business returned to the food scene Thursday after two months shuttered as a result of state orders prohibiting dine-in restaurant service.
Main Street Bar & Grille reopened Thursday morning for its first day of accepting orders for takeout, curbside service and delivery to the Greenfield and Turners Falls areas. The restaurant will operate between the new hours of 11:30 a.m. and 8 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday.
“We’ll hear from our customer base and see if there are any additional needs we can meet,” said Christina Guevin-Gurney, owner and manager of the restaurant on Main Street. “We did takeout before but we were mainly a dine-in service, so shifting our business plan to to-go is new for us.”
In addition to offering food deliveries, customers can purchase bottled beer, wine and malt beverages with their orders, she said.
Guevin-Gurney said social distancing will be practiced, noting that the outdoor sidewalk will have marks on the ground indicating where customers can stand 6 feet apart; a plastic respiratory barrier has been installed to protect both the customer and employee behind the counter; and employees will be required to wear masks. Signs will also be posted outside informing residents of the requirement to wear masks when entering the building.
“A hand-washing policy has always been the case,” she said. “We’ve always disinfected frequently, but (we’re) just being more observant of that and having it right at the forefront.”
Guevin-Gurney said the restaurant wasn’t previously set up for curbside or delivery, which is why the business closed completely when Gov. Charlie Baker announced on March 15 that, beginning March 17, restaurants could only offer takeout or delivery.
The timing of the announcement came a few months after Main Street Bar & Grille reopened after being closed for renovations, she added. Although these renovations included upgrading the electronic software system for taking orders, they didn’t include the necessary additional services for offering delivery.
But with the new business model now in place, Guevin-Gurney said she expects to continue offering delivery and curbside service once things return to “somewhat normal.”
“Seeing how COVID-19 is going to be around for quite some time now … there might be periods where we have to restrict service again, and I want our business to be viable through that,” she said. “It makes us be able to continue to work and our employees be employed when things get hard again.”
Guevin-Gurney noted staffing has returned to normal, with several employees working in different capacities than before.
“There’s a lot that goes into the delivery that we have not done before, so we’re excited about it,” she said.
Customers can place day-of orders or future orders by phone at 413-774-6388. The menu can be found on the restaurant’s Facebook page, Main Street Bar & Grille.
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