Parker’s Bistro sets reopening date
Nov. 16, 2020
After being closed since late March because of the coronavirus pandemic, Parker’s Bistro is getting ready to open next week.
The downtown eatery plans to reopen Nov. 24 but is keeping a close eye on new cases of COVID-19, owner Stacy Newcomb said.
Tables have been removed in the restaurant at 210 S. Main Ave. to increase social distancing. In the space with a full view of the open kitchen, for example, there are three tables instead of five. Staff members will wear masks, and customers will be required to wear them whenever they’re not seated, Newcomb said.
“It’s gotten somewhat better in terms of how people deal with it,” she said of the ongoing pandemic. “We now understand how important masks are. That’s why we’re making it a high priority for everybody to wear masks because you figure it’s just going to help minimize that exposure.”
The back room at Parker’s will continue to be available for larger groups of people – those who are comfortable being together, Newcomb said. The room can hold up to 20 diners.
The restaurant will open at 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and the kitchen will close at 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and at 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
“We’re going to reserve Sundays and Mondays for any other type of reservation that people would like – to reserve a larger portion of the restaurant or the whole restaurant. They want a party, but they don’t want anybody else there – we can create that for them. … We’re just trying to work with people, trying to be creative and yet safe – or as safe as we can be. It’s a tricky time.”
For those private gatherings, “we’re looking at doing some special tasting menus for that,” Newcomb said. “We’ll see how that goes. It’s something I’ve kind of always wanted to try, and we thought it might work well in this situation we’re in.”
The new dinner menu will be about half the size of Parker’s typical menu, but it will continue to be seasonal and offer innovative presentations of its standard dishes such as the tenderloin and the tuna napoleon, she said. Diners will continue to find chislic and fries, gumbo, salads and dark chocolate pudding. “We’ll have a mix of old and new but mostly new.”
Parker’s will be closed on Thanksgiving, but it has created a special to-go, family-style menu. Orders must be in by Nov. 23 for pickup Nov. 24 or 25.
“Parker’s will be producing it, and it will be able to be picked up over at (sister restaurant) DA•DA where people can actually add, if they want, a bottle of wine to go with their Thanksgiving dinner or if they want some drinks to go with it,” said Newcomb, whose son Carter Newcomb-Weiland is the executive chef for both restaurants.
Additional “parties to go” will be available for other holidays, she said.
