Statewide Mandate Version 2.0b

Just in time for Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Christmas, Yule, New Year's...  whatever you celebrate (or don't).

Here is a link to the mandate that we are presently being forced to endure.

Restaurants must close their dining rooms, but takeout, delivery and outdoor dining is allowed (with restrictions).

Yes, you read that right.  O-U-T-D-O-O-R  D-I-N-I-N-G.  Presently, the temperature is 36 degrees, there's frost on the ground, no cloud cover.  It is going to be a cold day in Western Washington.

In an outdoor dining setting, you may use a tent and propane heaters.  Basically, you're dining semi-indoors, in the freezing cold, in a semi-enclosed area with propane heaters.  WITH PROPANE HEATERS.  Does that make any sense?  Covid 'bad'.  Carbon monoxide poisoning 'good'. 

Bowling alleys are closed for indoor services. 
Well DUH, we cannot simply drag all of the bowling lanes and equipment outside to set up.  This is Washington, where it rains frequently, and it's cold.  How do you do outdoor bowling anyway?  Come on!  The way we were doing it when we were green-lighted to reopen bowling in September was working.  Bowlers don't understand why bowling is closed when social distancing was working.   

Fitness Clubs are closed for indoor services, but can open with outside services provided that social distancing and so forth can be practiced.

Bars are closed for indoor service.

These are the mandates that prevents my colleagues and I from performing our jobs.  There's a whole bunch more, but these affect us the most.  We hit the trifecta.  I am an Executive Chef for a Rockin' Bowl Café located inside Daffodil Bowl in Puyallup, WA.  We have a  bar, and our sister company is Fitness Quest.

We have had to endure weekly Zoom meetings.  A half hour before our meeting this week, Governor Inslee decided to extend our shutdown.  We were looking forward to December 14th.  Now, we are looking at January 4th.  Just a few days past my 2-year work anniversary.

What Daffodil and Rockin' Bowl Café means to me.

I remember quite clearly, a vague DM in Facebook on a Sunday morning.  What started it was one of the historic buildings was recently up for sale.  The local community has a Facebook group to talk about community happenings.  Let's be realistic here, how much community happenings could happen in a sleepy mountain town of just under 600 with half that farther up the hill, and about a third of that closer to town?  We talk about finding bear scat in the yard, porch pirates, and missing pets.  Well, that's not all we discuss, but that's the general gist of it.  The theme of my comments was basically how badly I wanted to buy that building to turn it into a community gathering space that served fresh pastries and breads, soups, sandwiches; English tea-shoppe sort of inn with brunches and what not.  This triggered a smattering of back-and-forth with a truly beautiful soul.  Next thing I knew it, I am at the little coffee-house in town, sitting down to coffee with her and her husband to discuss my future.  I wasn't actively seeking new employment - I was waiting for an opportunity to present it's self.  Little did I know, this would lead me to THAT opportunity.  I was a little confused on the DM's in Facebook Messenger, my curiosity got the better of me.  I wasn't anticipating being Facebook stalked (Not in a bad way. I'll admit, I Facebook stalk potential employees to see what their food pictures look like).  

A couple of hours later, I get back home.  And I'm being asked, "How was your meeting?"  All I could say was, "What just happened??"  It took the rest of the day to process it.  Some more back-and-forth via text, some more phone calls.  I'm going in for another interview, one a little more formal.  I turned in my notice at The Mill and finished out my two weeks, and took a few days off before starting.  And then I went in to fill out my employee packet.  

It has been an interesting and exciting journey.  So now, we fast-forward to March 2020.  We had already seen numbers dwindling weeks before the first shutdown.  Banquets and caterings were canceling left and right.  We were told by our Governor, that the shutdown would only be for a few weeks, which then turned into months.  

We did everything and then some to assure our community that we would adhere to safety protocols.  We shrunk the menu.  We did a lot of deep cleaning.  We pre-opened with a soft-opening, in the hopes that we would be advancing to the next Phase.  That didn't happen.  We were put on pause.  The hundreds of phone calls and e-mails daily, asking, "When is bowling reopening?" were getting tiresome.  We dropped down to a skeleton crew.  My bartender and I would take turns answering phones.  While the GM worked hard at putting together a beer garden.  I think we actually served 3 tables the whole summer outside.

"Bowling is not presently open yet but the restaurant and bar are open, we have seating and no wait time, please come in and dine with us!"

"We will wait until bowling is reopen."

That was a punch to the gut.  What happened to all the people asking, "Can you at least open the restaurant?  We miss your food!"  Actually, we had a lot of our regulars that came in.  Especially the breakfast people.  Once bowling reopened, business started to slowly trickle in for lunch and dinner service.  It really began to look up when leagues came back, but still not to the extent it was before the pandemic.

I literally cried when a couple came in.  Their favorite Chowder house was closed due to Covid-19 and they were told by friends that we had the best chowder in town.  It was our first Friday to reopen, and there they were.  They ordered the chowder.  The rest is history, and they enjoyed coming in when Andi and I were working together. Andi is my "work-wifey" - we are close in age and we just work so well together.  They came in several times a week up until our last day for another round of shutdown.  Needless to say, they do not go to their favorite Chowder-house any more.  We are now their favorite Chowder-house.  It's like they forgot about their favorite place in Tacoma.  I've had chowder at many restaurants over the years, and most of the time it's been just okay.  I love my chowder though, it brings back memories of my dad.

The best chowder can be found at a bowling alley?  Seriously?  

Yes, seriously.  It is a multi-award winner.  It is a Quintessential Seattle Clam Chowder with attitude.  It is flavorful, colorful, not runny but also not too thick.  It isn't like a New England Clam Chowder.  When you see it, you see the difference immediately between the two styles of Chowder. The color variation is also unique in that it is not grey colored.  It has a flirty blush to it.  I have conversations with my dad, who has been gone from this earth for 18-years.  I think he's proud of me.

But anyway...

I spent a great deal of time trying out specials because I made a promise that I wouldn't change the menu all at once.  It was a win-some, lose-some with the specials.  Pineapple fried rice - winner.  Roasted half chicken - not so winner.  Macaroni and cheese - winner.  I had a direction to go based on what was popular and what wasn't.  I changed some things, added some things, removed some things.  We finally went to print the new menu.  That was traumatic, but we finally got it done.  

What this pandemic has taught me, is that we have to evolve or perish.  It's the perfect opportunity to evolve this poor and tired  little café with three different identities and take that concept that I began into the next phase.  And it's in the works.  I have keys to the building, and supposedly there's some things happening right now.  While my curiosity is getting the better of me, I am not utilizing that key.  I'm itching though...  and not because I have an outbreak of shingles, allergic reaction to antibiotics, and cellulitis that I am dealing with presently.  I will wait until we all go back.  I need something to look forward to.

I have had the opportunity to be a part of this team.  I have a lot of my heart and soul wrapped up in this.  We were doing everything that was mandated of us, and then some.  So, it feels like the Governor has taken it all away.  We aren't getting any pandemic assistance and have to rely on 40% of our wages via unemployment benefits.  

Speaking of which, our Governor had targeted Restaurants, Bars, Fitness Clubs and Bowling Centers.  As though we are singlehandedly the ones that have caused this spike that has gone so out of control.  That's not the case.  It's about irresponsibility and poor management.  I am not going to turn this into a political platform, so I'll just leave it at that.  There's also a bunch of shoulda, woulda, coulda that I could spout off for multiple paragraphs, but I'm going to spare you from that - I tend to ramble and it's not pretty.  I am blunt, abrasive and a bit annoying.  

I am asking a favor...

No matter what your stance is on social distancing and mask use.  This next round of shutdown has really caused a lot of Pandemic Fatigue in so many of us, it's volatile and stressful.  I honestly see an uprising and revolt against the government in our future.

Please be kind to others.  Please be kind to yourself.  Please do whatever you can to help slow and stop the spread of this so everybody can go back to life as usual instead of this "new normal".  I hate that phrase so much, along with the word "unprecedented".  We already lost Thanksgiving, now Hanukkah, Christmas and New Year's.  At least now, we have a vaccine coming, so there is an end-game.  Please be safe and practice safety.  

Check on your elders, check on your family, check on your friends.  

Maybe even buy a few extra things on your next grocery run for donation to your area food bank, even pet food, baby food and formula, diapers, diaper wipes; these are things that are often overlooked for donations.

Be a Secret Santa to a struggling co-worker or friend.  There's nothing more joyful than taking a little bit of the stress away from someone else by just that small gesture.