Multnomah County (where 4 of our cafes are located) is soon to enter (or has entered — depending on your time of reading) a Phase 1 reopening. We wanted to give you an update on details specific to Good Coffee and how our retail portfolio will be engaging this Phase 1 reopening.
We are beyond excited about Portland entering Phase 1 (an expected date of June 12). This is the first (of many) steps towards recovery for our city’s rhythms (and jobs), collectively put aside for the overall safety of our communities. We’re proud of you Portland. It hasn’t come without heavy cost.
Phase 1 will mean a lot of different things for an industry we love — the hospitality industry. For some of our friends (due to the available space and locations they exist in), Phase 1 offers the opportunity to reopen their restaurants and start the road to recovery. For others (due to lack of space and locations they exist in) pivoting (towards) open dining rooms at minimum occupancy, and (away from) to-go models that have allowed them to sustain their business during this time, Phase 1 reopening opportunities are a detour towards failure.
For us at Good Coffee we have decided that (under Phase 1 guidelines) we will NOT be reopening our indoor (seated) areas. For the indefinite future Good Coffee will continue to operate as a take-out only business per the strict distance and sanitary protocols we’ve developed.
Please Note: While our indoor seated areas will remain closed, we will be opening certain areas of our outdoor patios for distance seating and will do so in a way that continues to allow all to-go customers entering and exiting our cafes to maintain a safe distance from those seated outdoors.
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Why (for Good Coffee) is this a necessary approach to Phase 1?
Space: Our approach to building cafes pre COVID was always an approach that involved smaller footprint stores, allowing those who walked through our doors to feel the energy, love and belonging we wanted for all guests. Due to having smaller spaces — we simply cannot seat guests (indoors) under Phase 1 occupancy guidelines without creating serious complications for people entering and exiting our stores under current distance requirements.
Guest Services: To transition to an inside seated format would drastically reduce the services we currently offer our guests:
A safe / no-contact format to get delicious coffee; quick drink times; the ability to accommodate high guest visits (spread out over time) and still achieve minimum occupancy indoors.
It’s no secret that we love being in the hospitality business. It’s been hard to change how we offer hospitality (welcoming smiles and words now being contained behind masks / not being able to usher guests to a table) But even now, we are committed to doing everything in our power to serve as many guests, with as much warmth and delight as possible under the current format. And thus our choice to forgo the indoor seated opportunity outlined under Phase 1.
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Like you, we look forward to the day when we can welcome you back into the (surround sound) hospitality experience of safe / full occupancy cafes. Until then we are committed to making decisions that make our services available to as many people as possible in a way that feels safe and reliable for months to come. Here’s to the next step Portland. See ya soon.
