April 10th, 2020

Greetings from Carrboro,

I’m so out of the loop. Socially speaking. It’s pretty pathetic. All the cool kids seem to be Zoom-ing with each other during this pandemic. Personally, I don’t think that I’ve ever officially Zoomed – or been Zoomed? – but don’t quote me on that. I’d ask my children but am afraid that conversation might be wildly embarrassing. In my world, Zoom remains a vapidly tame TV show that pushed the metric system onto school children via PBS circa 1974.

Similarly, everyone seems to be recollecting their week to week quarantine life in a timeline marked by whatever is the latest bit of eye candy to land on Netflix. This last week was definitely tramp stamped by that show about a tiger and a guy with bad hair. I know that you know the one – it has the feel of Siegfried & Roy – but in a sketchy trailer park outside of Charlotte. Definitely not for me; a little too close to home.

But please don’t see this as some holier-than-thou reach for moral superiority on my part. Far from it. I’m actually a bit jealous. But just a little bit. At the restaurant, the last month has been more like Groundhog Day. Sadly without Bill Murray. But, on the plus side, with cookies. A tireless team has been here nearly every single morning and night since March 16th; we’ve reached the point where we are ending each other’s sentences. But no one is complaining. It’s been quite a wild ride turning Acme into the thriving Acme To-Go and organizing and energizing the community-wide effort that is our local food hub, Carrboro United. Essentially, restaurant business boot camp. And, wow, is the effort ever worth it.

Worth it in ways that I wouldn’t have imagined beforehand. The notes and emails. The shout-outs and car horn honks. So many familiar faces ordering dinner day after day. The outright kindness and optimism of this community. All of it. And seriously there’s no amount of money that could ever mean as much to this team as your collective heartfelt support; we’ve been deeply touched. You’ve reminded us of the true reason why we do what we do. And that is a profound gift. Thank you.

But in our quest to catch up on Netflix and with the rest of you, Acme To-Go is changing our hours. We will offer dinner from Wednesday thru Sunday only starting next week. Or, to put it more clearly, we will be closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. Either way, the translation is the same: we’re here for you. This change to Acme To-Go will allow us to maintain strict Covid-19 protocols by keeping the Acme “work family” as small and strong as possible for the foreseeable future. And, well, do our laundry. The classic win-win. It will also allow us the time to continue providing the necessary stewardship of Carrboro United every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. So, don’t worry; we’re not going anywhere. Promise.

Well, that’s all the news from Carrboro. The staff at Acme look forward to serving you soon.

Cheers,
The Staff at Acme