In my last blog post, The 443 – Version 2.0, I outlined our plan for a new room layout at 443. It’s something we’ve been talking about for a while, but the COVID-19 crisis has moved it up the priority list. We want to be ready to face our new reality when we’re allowed to reopen.
The short version is this: We’re planning to put all our bulky, upholstered furniture and vintage tchotchkes in storage and change our seating arrangement to cabaret-style seating, which is small tables with the chairs on one side facing the stage. We will have some chairs arranged in rows and we’re planning to have a standing room area with hi-top tables for drinks. The idea is to clear out the space as much as possible so we can adhere to social distancing precautions, plus tables and chairs can easily be sanitized while our soft couches cannot.
Over the weekend, Jimmy and I began clearing out space in the 20′ storage container we have on the side of the building. Currently, it houses our patio furniture, extra chairs for ticketed shows, and boxes of extra dry goods. We moved the patio furniture outside and all the extra chairs into the bar – they will be used in our new setup. Most of our outdoor furniture came from my deck and patio at home, so we took a truckload of it back to the house. We’re hoping to at least have our deck set up this year so we can enjoy dinner outside on our one night off together. We were so entrenched in getting the bar off the ground last summer that we didn’t spend any time out there at all, and I’m hoping to change that this year.
My son Nick and I took advantage of the beautiful weather today and pulled out the rest of the patio furniture and then relocated all the couches, upholstered chairs and coffee tables into the back of the storage container.
Thankfully, everything fit with room to spare. With the room cleared out a bit, we’ll tackle the carpets and floor tomorrow, and I’ll pack up the smaller stuff we piled on the stage.
Does anyone want a free couch? The leather-like sofa under the window is going to the curb next week. The seats are pretty worn, but it’s comfortable and sturdy and a good candidate for a slipcover.
It’s so weird having the place almost empty…it hasn’t looked like this in over 2 years.
We also started reaching out to artists who are on our calendar for ticketed shows in the next few months. Looking into my crystal ball, I predict we’ll be allowed to open sometime in June…but that’s just my guess based on what I’m seeing and hearing.
We’re exploring the idea of doing 2 sessions for each of these shows so we can keep the attendance to around 45 (our current official cap is 88) and give everyone some space. It’s not ideal for the artists – they will have to do more work for the same payout – but I don’t have any better ideas. When the capacity restriction lifts, we can always release more tickets. Some of our summer and fall shows have already sold more than 50% of the seats, so we have to have a plan in place.
But right now, I’m going to make myself a stiff cocktail and relax. I moved 4 couches and almost 20 chairs, so I can’t really lift my arms my back is screaming at me. Tomorrow is another day.
CHEERS!
