New Albany restaurateur says it was 'disappointing' Indiana reopened restaurants so early
Although mere miles apart, the Louisville and Southern Indiana restaurant industries have had to navigate different sets of stipulations when it comes to reopening. Indiana had an 11-day head start on Kentucky, one restaurant owners in New Albany have embraced to varying degrees.
I caught up with Joe Phillips of Pints & Union, Matt Simpson of Brooklyn and The Butcher and Bobby Bass with MESA Collaborative Kitchen regarding their experiences navigating the coronavirus pandemic. For Phillips, the crisis has served as a call to action, with him and his team continuing carryout service while providing free meals and groceries to those in need thanks to a grant from The Lee Initiative.
The team at Brooklyn and The Butcher is embracing the return to the food and beverage trade they hold so dearly, and MESA is excited to welcome guests back for its private dinner experiences beginning this month. Regardless of what reopening looks like for individual businesses, all shared a hope that moving forward, the local dining community can try to see the big picture.
"Let’s not take for granted what we have. Who knew it would become so exciting to simply go out to dinner?” Bass asked.
Pints & Union
114 East Market St., New Albany, Indiana, 812-913-4647, facebook.com/Pintsandunion. Current Services: Reopening June 9 for contactless curbside service; 4-9 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday; closed Sunday & Monday
How are you? How is your team?
Joe Phillips: We’re OK-ish. Like everyone else, we downsized rapidly when things began in March. Myself and three team members were actually in Nashville assisting with tornado relief efforts. We are the only people who have been able to stay on since then.
Are you planning to reopen? What does that look like for you and your team?
Phillips: When our restaurant closed, we switched over to curbside service and immediately began outreach work feeding out-of-work individuals. The Lee Initiative took notice and awarded us a grant to continue our charitable efforts. Since that first week, we have been offering drive-thru groceries three times a week, and we will be continuing this through the end of June. I’ve seen a whole new need, and I don’t plan on going back to what we were before. We are anticipating a very structured, mask-required small opening soon but are waiting to see where the numbers are before we make any decisions. It was disappointing to me to see Southern Indiana open as early as they did.
Is the response to carry out/delivery better or worse than you would have hoped? Will you continue to do it going forward?
Phillips: At first we lost 70% of our sales — we’re a pub! We were able to grow off of that a bit. We never got our sales back, but it has been enough to keep us going.
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How is the supply chain working for you? Are you grappling with limits in product or unfulfilled orders?
Phillips: Luckily we are pretty small, so we are able to adjust quickly. Our clientele trusts our creativity, and we are not running eight beef items on our menu, just a couple. It did show how thinly veiled the supply chain in America really is. We are transitioning to local farms to beat the supply chain and help our local economy.
What do you hope the Southern Indiana/Louisville community takes away from this experience when it comes to the restaurant industry?
Phillips: I hope that everyone thinks about the big picture. This is just the beginning of this, and this is a new way that we have to be flexible and creative as operators for the safety of our guests and staff. I feel we’ve only had a taste of what’s to come.
Brooklyn & The Butcher
148 East Market St., New Albany, Indiana, 812-590-2646, brooklynandthebutcher.com. Current Services: Dine-in & curbside carry out; 4-9 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday & Sunday; 4-10 p.m. Friday & Saturday; closed Monday
How are you? How is your team?
Matt Simpson: We operate Brooklyn and The Butcher as well as The Exchange Pub + Kitchen. Both teams are happy to be back. Getting back behind the bar or talking to guests about food and beverage is like putting on your favorite T-shirt in a lot of ways.
Are you planning to reopen? What does that look like for you and your team?
Simpson: We've reopened and are following guideline recommendations set forth by our state government. With that said, things feel pretty normal. Perfect hospitality has always been and will always be our number one goal, so the actual experience from a guest’s perspective isn't that different. They can still come to the restaurant and get that five star, classic steakhouse experience.
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Is the response to carry out/delivery better or worse than you would have hoped? Will you continue to do it going forward?
Simpson: As a steakhouse, carry out hasn't been the top of our priority list. Some of our food, like the tuna tartare, is so excellently prepared and served that the thought of it traveling in a car for 15 minutes before someone gets to try it is not ideal. That said, we have had many guests go that route, and they’ve left us great feedback. Imagine getting big, juicy prime filets to go? That's what we mean when we say on our social media that take out doesn't have to taste like take out. We're going to elevate it just like we do everything else.
How is the supply chain working for you? Are you grappling with limits in product or unfulfilled orders?
Simpson: The supply chain issues are the most challenging aspect we're facing right now. The price of beef changes drastically, and we're having to adjust our menu pricing weekly to reflect the market. We've also had to cut a few of our favorite steaks from the menu due to availability issues. It's challenging, but we're staying actively involved in sourcing from new and exciting local farms, and our new executive chef Ming Pu is very proud of his relationships he's built with those farmers.
What do you hope the Southern Indiana/Louisville community takes away from this experience when it comes to the restaurant industry?
Simpson: I hope that the community just comes to understand and respect the value of food and the value of those who prepare food more. I hope the age of the elite yelpers giving 1-star reviews is over. I hope that negative Facebook users and forum haters just chill. Respect the work being done by these people who take the work seriously.
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MESA, A Collaborative Kitchen
216 Pearl St., New Albany, Indiana, 812-725-7691, mesachefs.com. Current Services: Dine-in events and weekly curbside carryout special; see website for schedule
How are you? How is your team?
Bobby Bass: We operate five businesses, four of which are in the food industry — MESA Collaborative Kitchen and MESA Kids cooking school in New Albany, as well as two restaurants in Corydon, 1816 Modern Kitchen & Drinks and Tavolo Italian Bistro. We prioritized the restaurants first as we had more staff and more debt to be concerned with. We immediately focused on to-go and online ordering while retaining as many staff as possible. I am grateful and proud of our group. If we can survive this, there is no way we can’t run a really good business.
Are you planning to reopen? What does that look like for you and your team?
Bass: We opened 1816 and Tavolo about two weeks ago at 50% capacity, and it has gone very well. It hasn’t been great, but we didn’t expect that given different levels of expectations. MESA and MESA Kids are different. MESA Kids will likely be indefinitely changed due to this. We shifted to online classes, and we ship the supply kits directly to the students. We’ve had attendees from as far away as California participate. MESA Kitchen was the trickiest. We have a weekly to-go dinner our resident chef Liz Matino offers, and we are easing back into live shows in June and will ramp up in July based on feedback. We are changing up the seating formation to accommodate requirements, and we have added cameras and TVs to ensure everyone has perfect visibility.
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Is the response to carry out/delivery better or worse than you would have hoped? Will you continue to do it going forward?
Bass: It’s been good — MESA’s dinners really were rallied behind, especially for Mother’s Day, but the numbers have dropped off since dine-in has returned. We will continue to offer online ordering indefinitely. I want to respect everyone’s comfort level with social distancing, so keeping that available is important.
What do you hope the Southern Indiana/Louisville community takes away from this experience when it comes to the restaurant industry?
Bass: I hope that, as human beings, we exercise more compassion and gratitude. ... We need to treat one another with love and respect, because we’ve seen that everything we’ve worked to build can be gone in 24 hours.
Given the evolving nature of social distancing amid the coronavirus pandemic, our weekly restaurant review column's focus will shift for the foreseeable future. Each week, critic Lindsey McClave will hone in on a different neighborhood, asking the same questions of three restaurants that are fighting to adapt and survive while serving our community during this critical period. Please send coverage suggestions to McClave at lindsey@foodie-girl.com.