As we round the corner on a full year of this new existence, we wanted to check in. It has been hard for everyone. The service industry has turned itself upside down, everyone is learning new ways to connect and support while keeping each other safe. Many of you might be experiencing the sensation of hitting a pandemic wall, if you have not already (we sure have, plenty of times). But we keep finding ways around it, over it, and through it.
We could never have predicted this course when we decided to close the restaurants for a month in March of last year, but here we are: still learning, still pivoting, still finding ways to serve the community while keeping it and our staff as safe as possible. Things are looking vastly different at 1 Prospect Street these days and we have felt the tremendous support from the community in all the shifts we have taken. We want to continue to serve you, to continue making delicious foods and delectable drinks, to create a comfortable space for the community to gather safely and in solidarity and we need your help to do so. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, but we are not quite there yet.
Vaccines are slowly but surely starting to disseminate throughout the states. Vermont on the whole is trending down in cases, but Bennington’s numbers are still on the rise. That means it is on us to keep each other safe as we trod toward some sense of normalcy again. We are doing everything in our power to keep your dining experience, whether in house or pick up, as safe as possible. We are doing everything in our power to keep our staff safely employed. We are doing everything in our power to keep our doors open for as long as it is safe to do so. The way we can maintain this is to have the community meet our efforts.
Stay home if you are sick, wear your mask at all times possible when in the restaurant, opt for our convenient curbside options, abide by CDC guidelines in your every day life in efforts to slow the spread. If we come together, we believe Pangaea can weather the last gales of this storm and stay open for all services. We have a phase 2 plan if numbers continue to rise, which would be to go full curbside again, but at the moment we feel we can avoid this change with help from the community.
Please take a look at our infographic below detailing what we are doing to keep you safe and what you can do to help and click here for more detailed guidance on daily life from the CDC. For more Vermont specific guidelines you can visit the Vermont Health Department’s COVID specific website here. If you are not a resident of Vermont State, visit the Vermont Visitor’s section here for help figuring out terms like “essential travel” and “mandatory quarantine.”
In the meantime, we encourage you to take advantage of our extremely convenient curbside pickup option. In the header of this page, you will find a link to our online ordering system. We update our online menu daily with specials, you can preorder for pickup later in the same day, we have beer and wine and cocktails and non-alcoholic beverages available to order online as well, so all you have to do is order, pay, and then call when you show up and we run your order right out to you! And we are always open for suggestions and requests about what would make you feel safe, what you would like to see made available on our menu, specials you loved that you would like to see again, etc.
We look forward to the big things we are planning on the horizon and we so appreciate your support and patience in helping us get to that point.
Stay well, stay well fed, and thank you.