Socially Distant/Contactless Biergartens

It's not central MA, but Nightshift's Everett location is more or less contactless. You order and pay on your phone, and they bring you your food and beer.

 

Wachusett last time I was there. For me now, and I'm not Dr. Fauci, outside is comfortable & safe within reason. Many places are featuring phone ordering and such. From what I've seen the beer folks have been right on.

 

Also not Central MA, but Aeronaut is doing a great job with contactless delivery of beer and food in their outdoor space. All orders taken online. I sat outside there in February (12 degrees out!) and they would not approach the table until you put on your mask. They take reservations also.

 

Mighty Squirrel does a very good job with this in Waltham. We went to Riverwalk in Newburyport yesterday and they are pretty nicely set up as well.

 

I really hope this set up remains at breweries.

It’s so much easier to just pay on my phone, and when I’m done, I get up and go.

 

Lost Shoe in Marlboro is essentially contactless. All beer is ordered through an app, reservations only, great spot

 

Was there this evening, nice taproom, with solid beer!

 

Riverwalk has a great outdoor setup. Even the indoor seats are fine, there are huge garage doors to make it very open-air. Friendly service & good pizza. Very laid back.

As for Mighty Squirrel, I had a very unpleasant visit there last month. Practically had a stopwatch on us from the moment we arrived to enforce the 90 minute rule. Was curtly told we had to order everything through their clumsy website, no beers prior to a food order despite telling them we’d peruse the menu while having a beer. An ask for cups of tap water was met with “order bottles of water off the website”. The meat pies were very mediocre & the service was non-existent, we were the only ones in the place. Tried to order some last beers at the 75 minute term & were informed in no uncertain terms that they could not possibly honor it, again the place was still empty. Pure COVID theater. Never going back , even for the mediocre beer either.

 

Why not just stay home and drink if you want to "socially distance'?

 

Not everyone has their own biergarten with table service in their backyards. It's also nice to get out of the house sometimes. I'm just guessing though.

 

LOL! I've been cen...centered on drinking these fantastic Schilling beers I picked up yesterday.

 

Trillium had this before they shut down for the winter. So nice to be able to pay upfront then just leave when you’re done.

 

I trust you left a huge tip since you did all the work for them aside from the arduous tasks of pouring beer & bringing them 50 feet to your table.

 

You know they are mandated to have you stay only 90 minutes and order food with your first round of drinks right?

But hey, it bothered you, so F them right?

 

Sir, this is a Wendy’s.

 

Of course it’s state-mandated. But yeah let’s adhere to the tightest guidelines when they’re stupid & not enforced just to prove how woke you are.

 

How entitled can you be?

 

While true, his experience at Mighty Squirrel is the first I've heard of somewhere actually not giving you your beer until you had food.

I've been to numerous places over the last year and I've never personally experienced that, and the majority of places I've been to are in tight-assed Cambridge and Somerville. I always had to get food, but I was served beers before my food arrived every time. Including when I went out this past Saturday night.

As an aside, can they get rid of this rule at this point anyways? It was always dumb and useless, and with things steadily improving and us entering Phase 4 in a week in MA, all it's going to do now is hurt businesses. I've been more cautious than most (I still haven't even got a haircut!), but this necessity to have food with a drink order was always curious at best, time to lift this restriction in my opinion.