“Where a community comes together”
What a long strange trip it has been. As New Jersey takes another step on their path to reopening, Denville restaurants ready themselves to offer indoor dining at 25% capacity. With restaurant margins being what they are, while this is a positive next step, it still continues to be challenging to run a restaurant in 2020.
We checked in with several of our downtown restaurants to get their thoughts on indoor dining. Jason Robbins, General Manager of Thatcher McGhee’s said, “These bizarre times are unlike anything I’ve ever seen. But these bizarre times have brought out the best in many, especially the town and people of Denville. When restaurants couldn’t open at all, people supported small business by ordering in, and when outside dining opened, we were allowed to extend our area and people came out in droves. Now with the excitement of indoor dining, we know they will once again show us their support by joining us to celebrate.” Thatcher McGhee’s, on Broadway, was recently voted #1 Irish restaurant in Morris County.
Carver’s on First Avenue is a popular breakfast and lunch destination. A small, quaint restaurant with a downhome vibe, the lockdown hurt their business substantially. “The pandemic has decimated our daily business to a mere 1/3 of our regular sales. Each sale during this time kept us holding on. The greatness of Denville as a community has kept baking and soup making at a high in spite of everything. We are elated indoor dining is resuming and hope to serve as many folks as possible! We will serving at a first come basis as we try and navigate through the changes and requirements. Thank you Denville for keeping Carver’s strong,” said the owner, Carver Parrish.
Jesus Gomez, owner of El Mejicano, is “excited to be able to see our friends back in our home even if it’s in a limited capacity!” He and his staff have been busy with take-out orders during the pandemic, and he is also co-owner of the new bakery that is opening up in a few weeks, Vikingos Cake Shoppe & Bakery.
The Second Half on Main, a popular pub downtown, has been doing take out orders and serving in their beautiful outdoor dining area. Diane Gentile said, “We are beyond grateful to our awesome patrons and the Town of Denville for their unwavering support through these very difficult months. We cannot wait to welcome those that are ready back indoors.”
Whether a restaurant is doing indoor dining, outdoor dining, takeout or delivery, they all need your continued support to survive the current and ongoing challenges small business owners face in 2020. You can support them by eat locally, of course, leaving reviews on their Yelp! and Google pages, and following and sharing their social media accounts. A strong community is what allows small business owners to continue to deliver consistent and quality products and services. Our tag line, “where a community comes together,” has never been more true than this year.
Learn More on How You Can Support #downtowndenville at DowntownDenville.com
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