Gov. Tom Wolf's latest shut down order is not just affecting restaurants. Several museums are also shutting down, one unexpectedly and the other sooner than planned.
Virginia Logan, the executive director of the Brandywine Conservancy and Museum of Art, issued the following statement saying the museum will close until Jan. 4, per the state directive.
"While the Museum galleries will be closed to the public, limited retail operations will remain open daily through Dec. 24 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Face mask requirements, social distancing, and a capacity limit of 10 people will continue to be in effect. Shoppers will need to use the courtyard entrance for Museum Shop purchases and the riverside entrance for Critter shopping in the Museum's River Room. The Museum Shop's online storefront remains open, and a small selection of some of our most popular Critters remain available online here and can be shipped across the country," she said.
Logan continued by saying she hopes people will still get out to enjoy the trail along the creek adjacent to the museum and the museum's online feature "Brandywine at Home," which features weekly virtual art and nature content that people can enjoy from home.
Also shutting down until sometime in 2022 is the Delaware Museum of Natural History. DMNH was to have closed for a full renovation beginning in January but, because of the pandemic, it has chosen to close now until sometime in the early part of 2022.
"DMNH will offer virtual programming, including many programs for schools and the Wonders of Winter series presented by Bank of America. Virtual programming will continue in 2021, as well as off-site programs and events, including at Winterthur Museum, Garden, & Library. In January, museum staff will also begin to deconstruct current exhibits for the renovation project," the museum announced in an email.
Restaurants are again being hit. Phil Ferro, the owner of the Chadds Ford Tavern, said he's concerned with the overall effect.
"I'm concerned for my staff. It trickles down to my linen company, my soda company, my produce company…" and he continued with a long list of suppliers who will also lose business until the Tavern and other restaurants can reopen with full service.
"It's bigger than just restaurant owners," Ferro said in a brief telephone interview. "It's a catastrophic trickledown effect on everybody."
Yet, he's still concerned for the industry here in the state. "They scared the public so much that you could have 100 seats outside in a tent, but the general is all scared now that they won't even come out…People are putting igloos outside, doing everything they can to try to hold on but this could be the final nail [in the coffin]."
As if to highlight that trickledown effect's on employees, Dave Magrogan, the founder and CEO of Harvest Seasonal Grill, issued a statement saying he will now have to layoff 300 employees from the small restaurant chain's staffing.
"I have been very active in the past nine months trying to protect our employees and our industry from another shutdown. Our employees and guests have been very responsible, following all of the governor's mandates. We have followed the rules, we have not contributed to the spread in our restaurants, and we are still facing another shutdown. I feel pain and sadness for every employee facing the holidays without a job, a financial safety net, and without hope...Our employees did an incredible job providing a safe and sanitized dining experience for our guests, and now they face the holidays unemployed," he said in his statement.
Michael Majewski from Brandywine Prime and Ann Kolenick from The Gables could not be reached for comment.
About Rich Schwartzman
Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.
(4 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
Loading...
Comments