March 17th, 2020
Greetings from Carrboro,
Over the past weekend, all of us at the restaurant were overwhelmed by the generosity and strength of this vibrant community. The kind words, the spirited elbow bumps, the pizza (thanks, Gabe!) – all those moments of such sincere and heartfelt support. Acme is very lucky to be a part of this special place. So very lucky. I will never doubt that together we will fight through this pandemic and get to the other side – whatever and whenever that may be.
But as an often busy, crowded restaurant, we also must face the fullness of our direct responsibility to protect our guests and staff from COVID-19. No question. As they say, denial ain’t just a river in Egypt. So, starting today, Acme will only provide meals to-go that you order through our website. There, you can order and pay. And then, when you’ve arrived at Acme, we can bring it straight out to your car. Simple as that. Think of it as the same Acme food that you love – but with Netflix. Not bad at all. And if you want a bottle of wine with dinner, we’ve got that covered, too.
Today is St. Patrick’s Day and we are cooking up a storm. Oh-so-slow-cooked corned beef and cabbage. Irish fish chowder. Shepherd’s pie. Dublin-style lamb curry. Irish soda bread. Bangers and mash. Sticky toffee pudding. You know, basically the ultimate comfort food. And if you want a Guinness to go with that, you’re in luck.
Starting tomorrow, Wednesday the 18th, we will also have a daily special or two under the heading “Family Meal” to go with our traditional menu. For those of you who’ve never worked in a restaurant, “family meal” is the term used for the team’s daily pre-shift meal. We will announce these specials everyday through our various social media channels. Availability will be limited with each item sold on a first come, first served basis.
Importantly, Family Meal will also allow individuals to pay as much or as little as they choose for dinner. We recognize that this crisis has put extraordinary pressure on so many working families – in our industry and so many others – that we felt a profound obligation to do what we can for them. So, this makes sense. If you have the means to pay it forward, any additional monies raised through the Family Meal program will directly benefit the people on our staff bearing the brunt of the economic fallout that this crisis creates in our business in Carrboro.
None of this is easy. But that’s not to say that these decisions aren’t correct; they are. But their right-ness doesn’t make me less nervous. Or less scared. That’s because I know that this will take time. And patience. And that deep down Acme cannot operate as we have day-in and day-out for these past 22 years. The old ways are just not possible. And we will need your help to forge this new path. Your ideas, your strength, and your patronage. We can start the conversation with the simple fact that we still love to cook and you still love to eat. That’s a beginning. Together, we can do this.
Well, that’s all the news from Carrboro. The staff at Acme look forward to serving you soon.
Cheers,
The Staff at Acme
Take out available: acmecarrbo.wpengine.com
