Pluckemin Inn COVID-19 Daily Updates
Saturday, 11/14/2020 – Covid-19 infection update.
Dear Friends,
As you probably know by now, one of our employees has tested positive for Covid-19 on Thursday. (That individual last worked a full shift on Friday 11/6, and was sent home on Saturday, 11/7 when they first reported symptoms).
As a precautionary measure, we have decided to close the restaurant for a week to make sure that all that had direct contact with the employee can quarantine.
In addition, we have arranged for all team members who came in direct contact with the infected employee to get tested yesterday.
I am happy to report that all that have tested yesterday were found to be negative for the virus. As recommended by the physician that conducted the tests, we will continue to monitor the symptoms of all our team members in the upcoming days.
I also wanted to take this opportunity to thank all of you, and there where many, who reached out yesterday via phone and email with words of encouragement and inspiration. Your continued support is truly humbling.
Looking forward to serving you soon,
Tal Itzhaki
Director of Operations
titzhaki@pluckemininn.com
Friday, 11/13/2020 – IMPORTANT UPDATE RE: TEMPORARY RESTAURANT CLOSURE.
Dear Friends,
Since mid March of this year, we have been keeping you updated on everything happening at Pluckemin Inn during these unprecedented times of Covid-19.
We kept you updated on changes in operations that were caused by the pandemic, takeout menus, outdoor dining and everything in between.
Throughout this time, we were able to keep operating and serving you to the best of our ability, and without interruption.
Unfortunately, we were just informed that one of our team members has tested positive for Covid-19.
The team member last worked at the restaurant on Friday 11/6 with no reported symptoms. On Saturday, when the team member reported symptoms, they were sent home.
Out of an abundance of caution, and with our team members health, and the health of our guests as our top priority, we have made the difficult decision of closing the restaurant effective immediately, for the duration of the required quarantine time, which end on Friday 11/20/2020.
We will reopen for business on Saturday, 11/21/2020 at 4pm.
We understand that this causes some significant inconvenience to those that had reservations with us in the coming days, and we deeply apologize for it. That being said, we hope that you will agree that the health and safety of our staff and guests is our main concern.
If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me via email at:
titzhaki@pluckemininn.com
Lastly, I wanted to thank you all again for your incredible support, patronage and understanding throughout this time, and we look forward to serving you all again soon!
Thank you,
Tal Itzhaki
Director of Operations
Saturday, 10/31/2020 – State of the art biodefence technology installed.
It has been a while since our last “update” email, and we thought that it is time for one, especially as we are nearing the winter months, and the days remaining for outdoor dining are limited.
As part of our commitment to providing safe and healthy environment to our staff and guests, we are happy to announce that we have installed a state of the art biodefence technology.
The Synexis Biodefense System that we have installed throughout the restaurant (front and back of the house) is designed to provide prophylactic mitigation of broad-spectrum pathogens including viruses, bacteria and fungi from the moment they are introduced to the space.
To learn more about the system and it’s unique capabilities, click here or visit: www.synexis.com
by installing the Synexis Biodefence System, we have added another layer of protection against viruses and bacteria in addition to the steps we have taken previously (Service staff wearing masks, elevated levels of cleanliness, sanitizing all dining surfaces and touch surfaces throughout the day and temperature check for staff to name a few.)
As always, we love to hear from you, so please call or email us with any question you may have, and please share our emails with your local friends and family members.
We look forward to serving you soon!
Monday, 6/8/2020 – ANNOUNCEMENT – REOPENING TO THE PUBLIC ON 6/15!
We are excited to announce that we will be opening for outdoor dining starting on Monday 6/15/2020.
It has been too long since we had the pleasure of serving you personally at the restaurant, and we are looking forward to seeing you soon.
We have been truly humbled by your incredible support in the last few months. This has been (and still is) a challenging time, but having you join us on this ride, and your understanding of the modifications we have had to make to the way we do business has made it significantly easier for us.
Your Pluckemin Inn experience will look and feel just slightly different once we open up again, and we wanted to get you ready in advance to the new policies we had to implement for this re-opening.
Hours of Operations:
Monday-Friday: 11:30am-9pm
Saturday: 4pm-9pm
Arriving to the Inn: Our regular entrance from 202/206 will be blocked to accommodate our new dining area. Please enter through Pluckemin Way, and into our parking lot. (Click here for site map)
Seating Area: Our entry driveway and valet circle will now accommodate 11 dining tables. All tables will be placed at least 8′ apart and can accommodate up to 6 guests. Special accommodations for groups up to 8 guests can be made.
There will also be additional seating on our patio, mostly for small parties of two.
Reservations: We encourage you to make a reservation in advance by calling the restaurant or using Open Table (link below). While we will accept walk ins, you will have to wait for your table in your car in the event a table is not available. In an attempt to serve as many of you as possible, reservations will have allocated time slots. Groups of up to 4 guests will be allocated 2 hours for their meal, and groups larger than 4 will have 2.5 hours. Of course, if tables are available, you will not be asked to leave at the end of your allocated time slot. We appreciate your understanding as this is a temporary policy, until indoor dining at full capacity is once again allowed.
Face Masks: We ask that you wear your face mask when arriving to the restaurant. While face masks are not required when at your table, we do ask that you wear them when coming and going to and from your table, including when entering the building to use the restrooms (which is the only instance guests will be allowed in the building). Our service staff will be wearing face masks at all times.
Menus: Disposable paper menus will be available. We encourage you to browse our menu online for an entirely touchless order process.
Curbside Pickup: Takeout and curbside pickup are still available. When arriving to pick up your order please proceed to the designated and marked curbside pickup parking slots immediately next to the handicap parking spaces. Call us to let us know you are here, and we will bring the order to your car. (Click here for site map)
Inclement Weather: In the event that we can no longer serve you due to a sudden change in weather, we will offer to pack your food to go. Unfortunately, we are not allowed to let guests in the building to wait out a passing storm.
Cleaning and safety procedures: We have updated all of our already rigorous cleaning procedure. All tables, and chairs will be sanitized before and after each party. Our staff is instructed to clean and sanitize their hands constantly, and prior to reporting to work all staff will be screened for temperature, and cold symptoms. No one will be allowed to work if they present ANY symptoms, or feel under the weather.
Wednesday, 5/20/2020 – Memorial Day Weekend Grill Kits
The unofficial start of Summer is this weekend, and we want to help make the first grilling weekend of the season as delicious (and easy) as possible.
Our executive chef selected his favorite cuts of meat and sides and created a customizable menu for you to select from. (Click here to view Grill Kits Menu)
We did not forget about dessert, and our pastry chef will be baking scrumptious key lime pies to enhance your backyard experience.
And no barbeque is complete without a drink, and we have three classics for you all mixed up and ready to drink:
* “The Plucky” – house infused orange vodka, cointreau, blood orange puree, lime juice, orange bitters – $18.50
* Manhattan – Buffalo trace bourbon, cocchi vermouth di torino, bitters – $19.50
* Negroni – Bluecoat gin, cocchi vermouth di torino, campari – $19.50
(Cocktails are sold in 200ml glass flask, with appropriate garnishes, and will serve 2 drinks each.)
Order now to pick up on Sunday from 11am-2pm
Our ready to heat meals will also be available to pick up on Sunday morning! (Click here to view our ready to heat menu)
Call (908) 658.9292 to place your orders
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Please note that we will not be offering our a la carte take out menu on Sunday, and will be closed on Monday in observance of Memorial Day.
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Thursday, 4/30/2020
Another holiday is around the corner, and once again we have to adjust our original plans. Since we can’t invite you and the mothers in your life to join us at the Plucky, we will do our best to help make the day as special as your mothers deserve it to be.
We have collaborated with two local businesses to create a one stop shop for all your mothers day needs.
Order your dinner and a cake from Pluckemin Inn, flowers from Jardiniere Fine Flowers, and a gift from Simms Jewelers and pick it all up here at the Pluckemin Inn for a perfect Mothers Day experience!
In Addition to our regular line up of family style dinners, Jason Ramos, our executive chef, and his team created a meal that will make your mom proud. And to make the meal complete, add our scrumptious 6″ carrot cake (serves 6-8)
Herb crusted pork loin, spaetzle, caramelized apples, bacon, brussels sprouts, mushroom jus – $60
Browned butter carrot cake, cinnamon cream cheese frosting – $40
(Order any combination of a family style meal & a cake for a 10% discount.)
Your family style meal will be available for pick up as a Ready-To-Heat Meal (cold with reheating instruction) on Mothers Day, May 10th, from 11am-3pm. It will also be available for pick up as a hot item on the same day from 3pm-6pm.
As we have a limited supply of the Pork Loin dinners, we recommend that you place your order in advance – we are currently accepting orders on a first come first served basis.
- To order a gift for your mother from Simms Jewelers, please Click Here , email: simms@simmsjewelers.com or call: (908) 781.7818 Tuesday-Saturday 10am-1pm. (for any jewelry purchase of $250 (or more) made between now and May 9th, Simms will give you a $50 voucher redeemable (during the same time period) at Pluckemin Inn or Jardiniere)
- To order your flower arrangement visit www.jfineflowers.com and enter the word community at check out to have the flowers delivered to Pluckemin Inn, or call: (908) 781.5600 to coordinate the delivery of an arrangement for the value of $50, $75, $100 or more.
Tuesday, 4/14/2020
Dear Friends,
We hope that you and your families are all staying safe and healthy during this ongoing pandemic.
After recovering from a very busy Easter holiday here at the Pluckemin Inn, our executive chef and his team are hard at work to bring some new items to our Take Out menu and your plates.
From crab cake sandwich, to Spanish paella, from coq au vin to our favorite cauliflower soup, all are being worked on as we write this email.
We will updates our menus online, and will send you another alert as soon as these changes take place.
In the mean time, make sure to place your take our orders for tonight, and your ready-to-heat meal orders for pick up and delivery tomorrow.
We also wanted to remind you that our 20% senior discount is still available for our take out menu and our ready-to-heat meals. We are happy to see many of our local friends taking advantage of this offer.
We are now offering free delivery for our Ready-to-Heat meals to all Bedminster addresses and the Basking Ridge Hills. The deliveries will be made between 12pm-4pm daily. (Ready-to-Heat meals need to be ordered a day in advance)
Thursday, 4/2/2020
Dear Friends,
As we are into our third week of social distancing, we can’t help but think of the older members of our community who may have a harder time getting out of the house these days, and we wanted to do our part and help make their life a little easier.
Starting immediately we will be extending a 20% discount to any food orders (take out or Ready-to-Heat) made by a senior.
We will also offer free delivery of our Ready-to-Heat meals. As a reminder, those meals need to be ordered a day in advance, and will be ready for pick up as early as 2pm the following day, at the restaurant.
We are now offering free delivery for those meals to all Bedminster addresses and the Basking Ridge Hills. The deliveries will be made between 12pm-4pm daily.
We will look into extending the delivery for additional towns in the upcoming weeks.
Saturday, 3/28/2020
Dear friends,
As we are writing this update, it has been 16 days since our first Covid-19 related update.
It is astonishing how quickly these 16 days went by, and how much our daily routines have changed since our first post on 3/13/20.
Our dining rooms have been closed for almost two full weeks, and we have changed our operations to take out only service.
Your support, encouragement and food & wine orders have kept us busy, and we are now able to bring back to work (on limited hours) a few service members every day.
As every day is getting a little busier here, we wanted to remind you of our Ready-to-Heat meals. We have added these meals to allow us to serve more of you outside of our regular pick up times. These meals should be ordered a day in advance, and will be ready for pick up the following day between 2pm-4pm (Monday through Saturday) and from 12pm-2pm on Sunday. The Ready-to-Heat meals are strictly limited to the 3 family style meals currently offered (click for menu), and unfortunately we will not be able to accommodate other menu items with those orders at this point. We appreciate your understanding.
We also wanted to remind you that we have expended our days of operations, and now available for take out orders on Sundays from 2pm-5pm.
These are indeed uncertain times, and no one can tell how long this will last. But one thing we are sure of, not only will we survive this, but we will come out at the other side of this challenge stronger and more resilient then ever before. Together we will persevere!
Wednesday, 3/25/2020
Good afternoon!
We are happy to introduce our Ready-to-Heat meals as an addition to our already available take out menu.
Our ready-to-heat meals can be ordered for
a next day pick up and will be packed in an oven proof container – all you need to do is warm it up in your oven when you are ready, and enjoy with your family.
This is a perfect solution for families with kids that are now at home as schools are closed.
To order one of our ready-to-heat meals follow these simple steps:
- Check out our ready-to-heat menu at www.pluckemininn.com/food or by following the link at the bottom of this email.
- Call us at 908.658.9292 to place your order.
- Orders will be ready for pick up the following day starting at 2pm. (Heating instruction included)
Please note that all items are currently available at limited quantities and on a ‘first come first served’ basis.
Our take out menu is still available Monday-Saturday from 4pm to 8pm and on Sunday from 2pm to 5pm. We update our menus daily, so please keep visiting our website: www.pluckemininn.com or by clicking the button below.
Please review our pick up procedures listed below:
We ask that you call ahead with your order and provide your credit card information over the phone. We no longer accept cash payments.
When you come to pick up your food and wine orders, please pull up to the front door and call us to let us know you arrived. PLEASE STAY IN YOUR CAR! we will bring your order to you and place it in the back seat or trunk for you.
Please share our emails with your local friends and family members.
We also wanted to remind you that our entire wine list is now available at retail pricing. You can order wines by visiting our retail site at www.PluckyWines.com or by calling us at (908)658.9292
Tuesday, 3/24/2020
We hope that you are all staying safe and healthy and practice social distancing.
As most of you are getting used to working from home, or becoming your kids’ teachers, we are here to try and make your life just a little bit easier.
We are working on a selection of family style meals that will be available for pick up outside our normal takeout hours. Those meals will be packed in a tray and will be ready to heat up and serve to your family.
We will share the full details once we have them all sorted out in the upcoming days.
In the mean time, our menu for today have been updated and you can view it by following this link.
We are currently taking orders for today, and pick up is available from 4pm-8pm today.
Sunday, 3/22/2020
Good afternoon!
We wanted to remind you that we will be open today from 2pm to 5pm for takeout orders.
Our phones opened at 1pm to start taking your orders.
The last few days have been incredibly busy here, and we wanted to thank all who placed their orders with us.
Many of you have asked about our staff, and shared your best wishes to them – it is greatly appreciated and we know that they can’t wait to come back to work and serve all of you.
You have also been very generous with your tips this past week, and we wanted to let you know that these tips, and any future tips, will be divided among our service staff and will not be kept by the managers that have been taking and serving your orders so far.
As we mentioned in our email yesterday, we hope to incorporate more of our staff in our day to day operation, and your orders will help us do so.
Starting next week, we will be open during the hours listed below:
Monday-Saturday: 4pm-8pm (orders taken from 2pm)
Sunday: 2pm-5pm (orders taken from 1pm)
Please note that we will take the last take out orders half an hour before closing – i.e 7:30pm on Mon-Sat and 4:30pm on Sunday.
If you have wine orders to pick up, we will be able to have those available to you outside the hours listed above – please call (908)658.9292 to schedule your wine pick up time.
Please review our pick up procedures listed below:
We ask that you call ahead with your order and provide your credit card information over the phone. We no longer accept cash payments.
When you come to pick up your food and wine orders, please pull up to the front door and call us to let us know you arrived. PLEASE STAY IN YOUR CAR! we will bring your order to you and place it in the back seat or trunk for you.
We will be updating our menu regularly, and will notify you via email, or through our website and social media of any changes. Please visit our website regularly at www.PluckeminInn.com for updates.
As always, we love to hear from you, so please call or email us with any question you may have, and please share our emails with your local friends and family members.
We also wanted to remind you that our entire wine list is now available at retail pricing. You can order wines by visiting our retail site at www.PluckyWines.com or by calling us at (908)658.9292
Saturday, 3/21/2020
Happy Saturday!
We greatly appreciate your support during these uncertain times. Your food and wine orders are allowing us to keep many of our team members working, and we hope that we will be able to bring back more of our team members that are currently being forced to utilize their paid sick days and vacation days.
Our number one goal at this time is to keep our team members and guests safe, and to provide employment to as many of our 50 employees as possible. Your orders will help us get there!
We have been monitoring our operations and taking feedback from you and decided to make our new take out service available on Sundays as well.
We will be open on Sunday from 2pm-5pm for pick up. Orders will be taken starting at 1pm.
Starting next week, we will be open during the hours listed below:
Monday-Saturday: 4pm-8pm (orders taken from 2pm)
Sunday: 2pm-5pm (orders taken from 1pm)
Please note that we will take the last take out orders half an hour before closing – i.e 7:30pm on Mon-Sat and 4:30pm on Sunday.
If you have wine orders to pick up, we will be able to have those available to you outside the hours listed above – please call (908)658.9292 to schedule your wine pick up time.
Please review our pick up procedures listed below:
Orders can be made from 2pm on Mon-Sat and from 1pm on Sunday.
Pick up is then available from 4pm to 8pm on Mon.-Sat. and from 2pm to 5pm on Sunday.
We ask that you call ahead with your order and provide your credit card information over the phone. We no longer accept cash payments.
When you come to pick up your food and wine orders, please pull up to the front door and call us to let us know you arrived. PLEASE STAY IN YOUR CAR! we will bring your order to you and place it in the back seat or trunk for you.
We will be updating our menu regularly, and will notify you via email, or through our website and social media of any changes. Please visit our website regularly at www.PluckeminInn.com for updates.
As always, we love to hear from you, so please call or email us with any question you may have, and please share our emails with your local friends and family members.
We also wanted to remind you that our entire wine list is now available at retail pricing. You can order wines by visiting our retail site at www.PluckyWines.com or by calling us at (908)658.9292
For orders please call: (908)658.9292
Thursday, 3/19/2020
We wanted to start by thanking you for your outpouring of support over the last few days with emails and calls and most importantly your take out orders! We are incredibly grateful for your continued patronage during these times.
As more of you are ordering food, we also wanted to review our pick up procedures.
Orders can be made from 11 am on Mon-Fri and from 3pm on Saturday. Pick up is then available from 12pm to 8pm on Mon-Fri and from 5pm to 8pm on Saturday.
We will update you if our hours of operation will be modified in any way in the upcoming days as we are monitoring trends.
We ask that you call ahead with your order and provide your credit card information over the phone. We no longer accept cash payments.
When you come to pick up your food and wine orders, please pull up to the front door and call us to let us know you arrived. PLEASE STAY IN YOUR CAR! we will bring your order to you and place in the back seat or trunk for you.
We will be updating our menu regularly, and will notify you via email, or through our website and social media of any changes. Please visit our site regularly at https://www.pluckemininn.com for updates.
We have included a few pictures below of some of our new menu items for your review (pictured are the Family Chicken Dinner, Ricotta Gnocchi with Veal Cheek & mushrooms, and the Garlic Shrimp with Risotto).
As always, we love to hear from you, so please call or email us with any question you may have, and please share our emails with your local friends and family members.
We also wanted to remind you that our entire wine list is now available at retail pricing. You can order wines by visiting our retail site at http://www.pluckywines.com or by calling us at (908)658.9292
We are looking forward to continue to be a part of your daily lives even during these challenging times, and are committed to keep serving you great locally sourced, seasonal food.
For our take our menu: https://www.pluckemininn.com/food/ For orders please call: (908)658.9292
Wednesday, 3/18/2020
We have updated our take out menu to include mac and cheese with fontina, parmesan and garlic-herb crumbs – nothing is more comforting than good old mac & cheese!
To see the full meu, you can follow this link: Take-Out Menu
As a reminder, the menu is available from 12pm-8pm Monday through Friday and from 5pm-8pm on Saturday.
Feel free to call any time to place a take out order for later in the day if necessary.
Tuesday, 3/17/2020
We woke up today to a new, and unfamiliar reality with a restaurant that is now offering take out only.
While this is not a reality we want to get used to, we will make the necessary adjustment in hope to keep serving you, and keep as many of our employees working during these uncertain times.
We continue to monitor every employee health, and maintain the highest cleaning and sanitation standards.
We have now posted our new take-out menu on our website, and you can check it out by following the link at the bottom of this email. The menu offers a wide selection of appetizers, sandwiches, salads and entrees, and a special, “Family Style Dinner” options, serving up to 4 people that we hope will help those families that now have kids out of school.
As mentioned yesterday, we will be updating the menu on a daily basis. We welcome your feedback, as this is a journey we will be taking together.
We also wanted to remind you that we our entire wine list is now available at retail pricing. You can order wines by visiting our retail site at www.PluckyWines.com or by calling us at 908.658.9292
Take out Monday through Friday from 12pm-8pm, and on Saturday from 5pm-8pm.
You can call for your orders starting at 11am Mon-Fri and 4pm on Saturday.
When you come to pick up your food, there is no need to get out of your car, Just call us when you arrive, and we will bring the order out to your car.
If you work in a local office building, we are happy to offer take out lunch for you and your colleagues, and can discuss delivery options as well – just call us at (908)658.9292 to inquire.
We are looking forward to continue to be a part of your daily lives even during these challenging times, and are committed to keep serving you great locally sourced, seasonal food.
For orders please call: (908)658.9292
Monday, 3/16/2020
Following today’s developments, and starting at 8pm this evening, we will temporarily close our dining rooms and bar.
We will offer take-out Monday through Friday from 12pm-8pm, and on Saturday from 5pm-8pm.
Our take out menu will be available on our website at www.PluckeminInn.com/food and will be updated daily.
In addition to our usual menu, we have created a new family dining section that will offer a rotating selection of family style entrees and sides serving up to four people.
If you work in a local office building, we will be happy to offer take-out lunch for you and your colleagues, and can discuss delivery options as well – just call us at (908)658.9292 to inquire.
Curb side pick up is available for all take out orders.
We are looking forward to continue to be a part of your daily lives even during these challenging times, and are committed to keep serving you great locally sourced, seasonal food.
For orders please call: (908)658.9292
Saturday, 3/14/2020
Following our previous communication yesterday (below), we wanted to share with you the additional precautionary steps we have taken to ensure the safety of our team members and guests, and minimize the risk of infection while at the Pluckemin Inn.
Effective immediately we will enforce the following standards in addition to the already elevated level of cleaning and sanitizing we have previously implemented.
- All team members will be tested for body temperature prior to starting their shift. If an elevated temperature is recorded, the team member will be asked to go home and will be able to use available sick days or PTO.
- We will be taking temperature of our guests upon arrival. If an elevated temperature is recorded, they will not be allowed at the restaurant.
- We have eliminated the use of menu holders, and instead will present paper menus that will be discarded after a single use. Since our wine list is over 100 pages long, we encourage guests to check our wine list online at www.pluckemininn.com/wine either prior to arrival or when at the restaurant.
- Table tops will be cleaned before and after any guest use with clorox disinfecting wipes.
- we have eliminated several tables and chairs from the bar, tavern and dining room to allow for greater space between guests.
We appreciate your understanding during this period so we are at the best position to ensure the safety and well being of our team members and guests.
If you want to enjoy our food at the comfort of your own home, please note that we are taking takeout orders during our normal operating hours.
We will be happy to have our wine experts pair a bottle of wine (or two) with your order as well.
Please call 908.658.9292 to place your order.
As this situation is constantly changing, we will continue to follow the latest guidance and prioritize safety for our guests and staff.
We want to take this opportunity to thank you again for your long lasting support , and we promise to do all we can to provide you with some sense of normalcy in the upcoming days.
Friday, 3/13/2020
At The Pluckemin Inn, our priority is always the health and safety of our guests and staff. We are closely monitoring the latest news regarding COVID-19 and want to assure you that we will follow recommendations from the CDC and Department of Health. We have taken additional measures to protect against transmission of the virus including more frequent cleaning and disinfecting of all areas.
We have reminded our employees that they have access to sick leave, and instructed them to stay home if they are sick.
We have also instructed employees who may have been exposed to COVID-19 either through contact with a carrier, travel, or through contact with someone who has traveled to an area with widespread COVID-19 to remain at home for 14 days before returning to work.
We request that guests use their best judgment in determining whether they should visit The Pluckemin Inn, and refrain from visiting us if they are sick or if they suspect they may have been exposed to COVID-19 for a period of 14 days.
If you want to enjoy our food at the comfort of your own home, please note that we are currently accepting takeout orders throughout the day.
We will be happy to have our wine expert pair a bottle of wine (or two) with your order as well.
Please call 908.658.9292 to place your order.
As this situation is constantly changing, we will continue to follow the latest guidance and prioritize safety for our guests and staff.
We want to take this opportunity to thank you for your long lasting support , and we promise to do all we can to provide you with some sense of normalcy in the upcoming days.
