A NYC Restaurant Will Soon Need You To Take a $50 Covid Test Before Dining In, But Only On Tuesdays And Wednesdays
A New York City restaurant will soon require all patrons to take a rapid coronavirus test at the door before being allowed to eat inside two days a week. In what may be a first for Big Apple eateries, City Winery in the Meatpacking District will launch its pilot testing program on Tuesday.
As we enter the upcoming months of winter in the United States, restaurants will soon have to adjust in order to make indoor dining, or dining in general, safe for their patrons. That could mean daily testing for their employees, heated lamps outside, or limited capacity. One NYC restaurant in the Meatpacking District has come up with an idea. It's certainly not a good one, but I guess the effort is there and I can at least respect that. I feel for the restaurant business trying to make ends meet during this fucked up year considering they're in an impossible position. Here's what City Winery has cooking.
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Guests who want to visit the Pier 57 establishment on Tuesdays and Wednesdays will pre-pay $50 per person for the test when making a reservation via Resy online. Upon arrival, a health professional will administer a nasal swab, and patrons will be able to sip on a glass of City Winery bubbly while they wait the 10 to 15 minutes for their results.
First of all, it's expensive enough to go out to eat in NYC. Now I've got to pay $50 ahead of time per person for a reservation? I don't mean to sound cheap, but I'm not sure anyone is going to pay a $50 cover charge for dinner with the risk of being denied at the door, but sure go for it. I'd personally much rather go the food delivery rout than burn that cash before I even sit down, but that's just me. Those rapid tests aren't even remotely 100% accurate so you're taking the risk there as well. All of that is an issue, but the dumbest part of the whole thing are the days the testing is required.
The eatery is still open test-free Thursday through Monday, and also offers outdoor dining.
So according to City Winery, the virus looks at the calendar, sees it's a Friday and decides to stay home. Can't attack unless it's a Tuesday or Wednesday. Those are the prime infection days, everyone knows that. Thursday through Monday come on by with no fear of the virus, but if your appetite is howling on a Tuesday or Wednesday you best be prepared to jump through all of the hoops. Nothing screams dating in 2020 like getting a stick jammed up your nose and waiting for tests results just before meeting your Bumble date. Who said romance is dead?
This virus sucks ass and restaurants have been hit incredibly hard, but I mean what are we doing here? $50 covid tests two days of the week while the rest of the week goes on as normal? Not ideal.