Providences Pot au Feu wants to be the safest restaurant in America – Fall River Herald News

PROVIDENCE As Bob Burke prepared to open his Pot au Feu dining room for the first time since the March COVID-19 shutdown, he believed he had work to do in the restaurant.

People wanted to come back inside to dine, but he had to make it safe from the airborne coronavirus.

When you are in the restaurant business there is a trust that has been given to you, he said.

That left him asking How do I put six nets under the highwire?

I knew we had to have multiple layers so we wouldnt just go smack on the ground, he said.

Burke didnt think there was a road map to the kind of safety he felt necessary to offer. He pondered the magic of seating people six feet apart. Why not eight feet? he wondered.

He found his answers in the work of Erin S. Bromage, Ph.D., an associate professor of biology at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. He graduated from the School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences James Cook University, Australia, where his research focused on the epidemiology of, and immunity to infectious disease in animals. His post-doctoral training was at the College of William and Mary, Institute of Marine Science in the Comparative Immunology Laboratory.

By the time Burke reopened his dining room at the end of September, he made upgrades to the restaurant that cost between $7,500 and $10,000. He did much of the work himself.

It was absolutely the right thing to do, he said.

Heres the list of what Burke did and does to maintain safety:

Installed hospital-grade MERV15 High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters into the HVAC system to capture pathogens.

Added three air filter machines which offer five layers of protection: particulate, activated carbon filter, HEPA filters, ionization and increased air flow.

Enclosed UVC germicidal lights inside air ducts to destroy the contagious potential of the virus.

Introduced charged ions to cleanse the air using molecular technology that reduces droplets and pathogens in the air.

Augmented the supply of outdoor air into the interior space.

Treating dining and kitchen spaces with UVC lights nightly so every shift begins with disinfected surfaces.

Adhered fabric to high contact surfaces to defend against contamination.

Installed ceiling to floor dividers to separate all guest tables from each other.

Distributed KN95 masks to staff members to raise the level of protection. Made available P100 masks with microphone and speaker as an option.

Instituted white glove service with plate and glass covers in use.

Sanitizes restrooms with UVC lights and installed touchless fixtures.

A touchless thermometer greets guests as well.

Each night after service is over, Burke sprays with an industrial fogging machine. Its FDA approved to be safe for food and sanitizes entire spaces of restaurant dining room and kitchen. It fogs the rooms to work overnight.

The restaurant is only open for dining on Friday and Saturday nights with 10 tables, some for parties of two, most for parties of four.

Micheline Grossi Lombardi, a Scituate cookbook author, and her husband Salvatore, have already dined at Pot au Feu twice since it reopened.

We were so excited when Bob sent the email that he was opening that evening for indoor dining, I immediately made a reservation, Lombardi said. We returned last Saturday to celebrate my husband's birthday.

Other couples have been repeat diners as well, Burke said.

His only fear now is of another shutdown should there be a second wave. But short of that, Burke knows hes got the safety nets to get Pot au Feu through the winter.

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Providences Pot au Feu wants to be the safest restaurant in America - Fall River Herald News