Opening up Safely NJ NC

5 mask award goes to Massimos Pizza & Restaurant in Robbinsville. They are going out of their way to ensure patrons are safe. Tables are more than 8 feet apart....all employees in mask and servers in gloves. They wipe down each chair and table with disinfectant immediatley after patrons leave. They hand hand sanitizer outside as well. I watched them wipe down the plastic menus after every patrons use. I sat in a corner completely away from anyone....more than 30 feet away. After a long hike today I did not want to cook. The chicken orzo soup....salad with prosciutto and margaritas pizza were very good. Thank you for making me dinner...keeping me safe. Xoxoxoxq

5 mask award goes to everits farm stand on rt 15 South in Northern NJ. No mask no service....the young kid working today wore mask and gloves. His mask was made from a dish towel. He also put your purchases in a box so you could easily carry your items out..

Other road side stands on route 15 none of the workers were wearing masks and patrons also lacked masks. They were touching all the veggies and fruit bare handed. At everits you had to take the basket...to ensure no one was man handling the food.

5 mask award to a dog store...Living Pawsitively on RT 15 south in Northern NJ. Big focus on covid....immaculate store. All wearing masks and gloves. Amazing dog store as well.

5 mask award goes to Techniques beauty salon in Hamilton,NJ. 629 Whitehorse Ave. 609 585 7434. Wow.....they are taking resident safety to a whole new level. They took your temp before you entered...if you have a high tp you will be refused entry. If you refuse to wear a mask you are refused entry. Social distancing and sanitizing galore. I was soooooo impressed and very grateful that they are doing what they are doing. Every employee is also taking things seriously....every one. If an employee would ever refuse to follow the rules they won't be working there very long. BRAVO to Salon techniques. They are top notch and going above and beyond.

I feel pretty now

Yesterday we went to 12 different restaurants in Hamilton to review how well they are doing in following the state mandates and checklist from the township for outdoor dining. Out of the 12 we are only publishing moving forward those who are getting 5 mask. There are a few others amongst those 12 who are doing many of and some than asked....but they did not get a 5 mask after our team review. We are doing some follow up on a few items to see if we can get them that 5 mask award.

Dairy queen and Red Robin as of yesterday did a great job and received a 5 mask award. Things can always change..new staff...etc day so each of us own driving our own vigilance. We will posted the important things to look for to ensure safety but these two were stellar.

It was really hot yesterday so many kitchens had their doors open. One easily could see inside. I was stunned by how many had no masks and no gloves preparing food.

Tip...look at all aspects...dont get tricked by a great front that an establishment may have. There is one in the twp that reminded me of a prison....one part cant open until the other is closed....they had worse condition in kitchen for covid safety. When i asked them ehy that was they said the hot oil would kill the covid.

I stood talking to one owner, again another great social distance front and saw two employees with no gloves on handling the food and only one had a mask on the other had it by their chin right behind them

I was speaking to another manager and he served drinks to patrons with no gloves as we spoke about how well they were doing with covid.

The place with the outdoor bar....doing great things...but the bar....nogo for 5 mask. When i finished my day it was filled to the brim with people. This is what is happening with all the outdoor bars.

Idea.....why doesn't homedepot or lowes work with the township to put together a virtual class...how to make your own home bar...make up a kit....sell to resIdents at cost...to keep everyone safe. Restaurants stay engaged for they can then sell cocktails to go. This would lessen the people at the bars and keep everyone safer.

The buffet was phenomenal to see with all the calibers .They also had zero social distance info on the floor. Many restaurants do not have it...many have to protection at register. So that means its been like that all thru covid.

The one place with tables one foot apart stopped be in my tracks. I did not even want to see what else was going on there. But it was such a blatant disregard for the twps own process,I find it baffling how this was approved. Each place had to submit a drawing of what they would do. The twp could not have approved that set up. If it was different in their submission how did it get approved for use after an inspection. Of the site happened?

This is no doubt this is a tough time for businesses ,we have to help them. However they have to help us and just follow the rules they are not unachievable feats.

So my friends....be vigilant...stay safe.use the questions we used that are directly from the regs to help you decide. Take your own wipes and gloves to our outdoor event and wipe it all down before you sit. Don't leave it up to anyone that it was done. If there is a tablecloth...ask for a new one as you approach the table if you did not see them change it.

I want to thank my friend dwaz who started this concept in nc.....he is saving lives and is helping us do that too. It makes me so proud to be his friend.

Xoxoxox

So what we have learned the places that wanted to do these outdoor setups..who already have a liquor license ...have to apply for another one for outdoor...a separate permit....interesting.

We would ask the health department to consider shutting off all taps in places where people can self pour. Asking the staff to ownership of that pour....when they are busy...not gonna happen... and people will self pour. The state regs clearly say...no self service drink stations. So why is this allowed? Under section G in executive order 20-014, it cleay says no self serve.. But according to owners the health department in hamilton gave different instructions that the workers could do the pours. We ask that this be reviewed and considered for optimization. Thank you

Here is how we are evaluating.....using the NJ state laws and municipal checklist on the application for outdoor dining.

are they social distancing ..is it marked
is everyone wearing a mask
are they making people who enter wear a mask
What are they doing when employees start their shift
How 9ften do they clean surfaces and wash hands
Do they have lighting outdoors
Do they have barricades outdoors
Is there hand sanitizer available
If they clean a surface do they then change their gloves
Do they have a cleaning schedule
Are the tables 6 feet apart
No self serve
Restrooms....what's the sop
How are they informing customers of rules
Who do you do indoor take out
Do they decline entry to anyone who enters without a mask?

So as you go to places....check these above things...grab pics.....and post the rating.

Let's keep each other safe

So you may wonder how we come up with are rating....

5 mask award goes to Dairy Queen at Hamilton Marketplace. We spoke to owner Dan Fanglo who is from Hamilton. They are flowing all social distancing rules...clean bathrooms every 20 minutes..staff must wash hands every 20 minutes and change gloves. All were wearing masks and gloves. Great signage. They als9 have a camera to watch outside to ensure safety. One way on one way out. They turned off soda machine to ensure safety even though health department was ok to have it left on if they did the pours. But the owner would not risk the publics safety and turned it off. They are using top notch hand sanitizer.

Way to go DQ!!!

One mask award goes to Panera Bread at Hamilton Marketplace. Now there are things they are doing well.....however...the manager Jennifer is trying her best to be compliant. I waited for general manager to arrive and when he arrived he walked in without a mask. He finally put it on when jennifer told him someone was here to talk to him. Its was in his hat. He went into the back kitchen no mask, did not wash his hand upon entry nor do a temperature check before he came out front. I then saw another employee walking at 1034am...long blonde hair,no hand washing at sink Jennifer said they use upon entry and no temp check. They also have signage no outdoor dining yet chairs are there and you can see people are dining out there.no one came to clean that table and chair after tbey left. It does not matter if you are a GM...VP...CEO...no one should be exempt...set the standard for your teams.

However...they do have social distance rules and jennifer made sure people followed them. The cups are in single plastic bags...BUT they are doing self serve and free refills on coffee and all beverages which does not meet the requirements. When we were there people poured their own drinis from taps. It was not done by staff. I specifically asked the manager...about free refills..the answer was yes. Those in the back kitchen did have masks and gloves on.Their indoor dining is not open. They have drive thru and you can go inside and order take out. A client used the restroom but no one followed her in afterwards to clean the restrooms...not that,that is required but I just had a friend get Covid and they traced it back to the restroom. So think about that.. go potty before you leave the house.

We give the one mask award because if they are not doing the first step....temp checks and washing hands upon entry for employees... that spoils everything else for us. No self serve should be happening and it is for every beverage...coffee and soft drinks....outdoor dining area....but signs saying they don't have it....remove the chairs to ensure no outdoor dining can happen.

5 mask award goes to Red Robin at Hamilton Marketplace on Rt 33. We spoke with the manager,Tyler and got a tour on what they are doing. I asked him every question on my checklist and he answered everyone without hesitation. Top notch not missing one thing on the checklist. BRAVO...GREAT WORK Red Robin. Tables are 8 feet apart, empliyee checks, masks, gloves etc. Lovely outdoor area. Attached is their menu...pay these folks a visit. I am going to.

This page will focus on how well the establishments in Mercer County and NC are doing as it pertains to keeping the residents safe. The government entities in New Jersey as well as a municipalities, have sent out guidance on how establishments are to be safeguarding residents. Every review we do will focus on set criteria that has been set in the documents released by the state and the municipality's. The rating system will go from 1 to 5 masks 5 being the best. Our goal is to help everyone build their business back up. Easy to do.....follow the guidelines..its a win win for everyone.