Tag: covid

Covid Update, July 2021

by Thepantrychatham

As you’re probably already aware, the rules and laws around the pandemic are changing significantly in July.

First, whilst masks and social distancing are no longer legally required, they are still very much recommended. We are recommending those measures to our staff and volunteers and we are also recommending them to our customers – until seated. So if you’re moving around the inside of the building, waiting in the queue or engaging with staff at the till we (and they) would very much appreciate it if you could follow those requests where you’re able.

Secondly, table booking is not essential. We are back to our normal complement of seats inside and there’s lots of outdoor seating both on the patio and around the cliffs, tunnel entrance and surrounds.

Finally, there are no restrictions on group sizes either indoors or out.

And before we go, there’s one last bit of good news. The ever popular Fort Amherst Tunnel Tours are back on and can be booked online via: https://fortamherst.digitickets.co.uk/tickets

So here’s looking to a good summer!

Covid-19 Update, March 2021

by Thepantrychatham

Well this has been a long lockdown… We’ve been operating as a takeaway since the beginning of November 2020. We had to effectively cancel Christmas and find new ways to deliver Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day menu options (thank you everyone who made purchases for those events – the support was incredible), but now it would seem like there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.

For starters you can now sit outside with one other person and socialise, chat, eat and drink. It might not sound like much, but it’s a start and it only gets better from there…

March 29th expands that one person up to 6 or from one other household.

From April 12th, non essential retail will reopen and we have a fantastic new range of gifts, jewellery, art and models that we can’t wait to display. We will also be allowed to serve tables of 6 outside with proper food on proper plates – no more takeaway only options.

On May 17th the rule of 6 moves indoors and our interior seating will reopen with brand new tables in order to make the most of the space and ensure social distancing between tables. Outside you can have groups of up to 30, so we hope to see the return of the West Kent Veteran’s Breakfast Club and the outdoor space will also be available for evening hire for groups of up to 30.

And finally on June 21st (hopefully) everything should return to normal with all remaining restrictions lifted.

Opening Hours

We are currently open Monday to Saturday 09:30 – 14:30 and will look to extending both the hours and the days as the lockdown eases. Our facebook page @pantrychatham is a great place to make sure you’ve got the latest information.

Covid-19 Update, November 2020

by Thepantrychatham

Following the recent change in Government advice and the start of a new national lockdown from November 5th 2020. There are a few changes coming, so here they are.

From Monday 2nd November to Wednesday 4th November we will be open from 9am to 3pm with our normal menu, you’ll be able to sit down to eat. Things will be fairly normal.

From Thursday the 5th of November, things get a bit odd (again). We will open from 9:30am to 2:30pm Monday to Friday as a takeaway only. Please note that we will be closed during the weekends until further notice.

There is some good news though.

  1. We’re still open. Just open differently.
  2. We’re still able to offer takeaway afternoon teas (including the Festive afternoon tea) and cream teas.
  3. You’ve got three days this week (at the time of posting) to pop in and get items from the normal menu, sit down with up to 5 other people and make the most of the time before lockdown starts.

While we have tried our best to update everything we can, Our website, Facebook, Trip Advisor pages, some of them do take some time to catch up and some of the information out there might be contradictory for a couple of days. The details above are correct and will be correct until we post an update on this website (and then go through the process of changing everything, everywhere else all over again) – so click the follow button to get up to date information straight away.

Covid-19 Update, October 2020

by Thepantrychatham

We, like many venues are still being affected by the current pandemic and the changing information and advice from both central and local government. The current guidance is that:

  • Group bookings of more than 6 are not allowed.
  • We will not open beyond 10pm for private hire events.
  • Face masks should be worn by staff at all times and by customers when not sat at a table.
  • Customer information for the purposes of Track and Trace should be taken. You can scan the QR codes inside the venue in order to do this.

Please note that this guidance is likely to change with little to no notice, we will do our best to keep everyone up to date.

Should the situation deteriorate we will revert to takeaway only business while possible. Closure is very much our last option, but if that is the responsible thing to do then of course it is what we will do.

Covid-19 Information

by Thepantrychatham

Just like the rest of the world we were caught off guard by the severity and the speed at which Covid-19 affected us. Back in March, prior to the Government’s advice being issued, we took the difficult decision to close our doors temporarily until it was safe to reopen.

We are pleased to be able to say that we are now nearly at that point.

From Monday June 1st, we will reopen initially as a takeaway. There will obviously need to be some changes to the way we operate and the menu and services we offer for that to happen. In the main the changes are:

We will restrict access to the building so keep numbers of customers low. There will be floor markings indicating the social distancing requirements.

We will remove most of the furniture (although we appreciate that some customers might need to sit whilst they wait for their order to be prepared).

We would prefer you to pay by card (contactless where possible).

Our menu will be changed in order to provide a good selection of takeaway items.

We will be issuing cutlery, napkins etc rather than them being self-serve as they were before.

Key staff have undergone specific Covid-19 infection control training.

Outside furniture will be distributed to allow for lone or household group eating away from the premises.

We will not commence the opening of our evening hire events for the time being until government advice is given allowing us to do so.

Additionally, the Fort Amherst site will reopen to the public on the same day and is a great space to walk, ride and explore. Regrettably the tunnel tours will not be available, but there is still plenty to enjoy.

We hope to see you all soon.