06/11/2020
An Open Letter to Friends of Crescendo:
May 10th was our nineteenth birthday!
Our doors were locked. Our lights were off. Our seats were empty.
Our hearts were full of pride… and sorrow.
We sat at home and enjoyed a homecooked meal together, and thought about all the good times, faces, and stories that we have had the pleasure of being a part of, as we have provided a space for these events to happen in this community, at our tables, for over 18 years.
And, we agree, this COVID-19 Pandemic has been going on too long!
It is effecting our lives in so many unfortunate ways. Birthdays and anniversaries are not being celebrated like they should or would have been celebrated. Graduations and weddings are being postponed or rethought—or virtualized. Loved ones in hospital rooms and care facilities aren’t able to be visited. Funerals can only be attended by a handful of people.
Yet, since the Governor announced the mandatory closing of restaurants on March 10th, he has followed a logical, scientific approach toward initially flattening the curve of disease transmission, and then slowly, carefully, scientifically, re-opening businesses in a measured way. He stated that his experts warn him that each and every movement of the re-opening dial requires a minimum threshold of 14-21 days to evaluate any adverse consequence. The 50% re-opening dial turn announced suddenly last week, just days after the last dial turn (which allowed for outdoor dining) was announced, seems to go against the previous logic and careful practice of measured, evaluative movement. To us it feels too far, too fast.
The safety of our customers and employees has always been paramount to us as we have hoped to provide for the public a safe, memorable and happy dining occasion each and every time people come into our establishment.
The county in which we reside, Freeborn, has had daily elevating diagnosed cases of COVID-19 over the past several weeks. Our sister county, Mower, which comprises many of our regular customers, has had a repeated doubling of diagnosed cases over the past several weeks. In March and April (when Minneapolis numbers were mounting, as were other municipalities, particularly in New York, Washington and Michigan), COVID-19 did not really strike our immediate area with much of a punch. Until now.
Out of an abundance of caution, and because we will not allow our employees or customers to be COVID-19 beta-testers or guinea pigs to a non-scientific approach toward re-opening, we will continue to patiently wait until a safe time to re-open occurs. Tentatively, we plan to re-open our dining room for service beginning on Thursday, July 2nd, which gives the current dial change its full 21 days of impact discernment.
I hope you understand the magnitude of this decision for us personally and financially, but we trust that you can be patient a few more weeks, thereby making the past investment in each other’s safety a venture that will not end up suddenly going sour. Our prayer is that in the weeks ahead, the spiking trend of local COVID-19 cases diminishes, and we can safely gather together again for a meal, laughter and long-overdue conversation. God-willing, sweet corn will be in season, and our summer menu can safely launch for your enjoyment.
Thank you for your continued patience and support.
Bob and Patty Tewes
