Sick of cooking? Ready to move on from Zoom dating? There’s now one kosher restaurant in the entire tri-state area that’s open for business. Six Thirteen, in Stamford, Connecticut, is now offering limited dine-in seating (in addition to takeout and delivery) on their outdoor patio.
After approval from the state health department, restaurant manager Adam Rafalowitz opened up Six Thirteen on Wednesday, May 20, and has been fielding calls and reservations since.
“About 75% of our guests have come from out of town,” Rafalowitz said. “We have people driving out from Brooklyn, the Five Towns, Long Island, Teaneck. People are pleasantly surprised that the restaurant is closer than they think it is.”
Rafalowitz enforces restrictions to keep both employees and guests safe. Seats are all six feet apart. Restaurant staff wear masks and sanitize tables, chairs, door handles and other surfaces between each use. Rafalowitz bought a thermometer for his staff for temperature checks as well, but he has also been conducting visual checks to make sure that they have not been showing any symptoms of illness.
Guests are required to wear masks when moving from the table to the bathroom. Instead of a communal washing cup, they can wash their hands individually with a glass of water at the table. In order to keep menus sanitary (and to prevent disposing of hundreds of paper menus), Rafalowitz had them printed out and displayed underneath the glass tables so that people can see them without touching them. Instead of salt and pepper shakers, guests use individual packets. While there are no required temperature checks for customers, people who are feeling symptomatic should not dine in.
Amidst these changes, many aspects of the Six Thirteen dining experience remain the same, including its menu. Appetizers include�smoked brisket egg rolls.�Entrées include�chicken pargiot, baby back beef ribs and sesame crusted tuna.
The restaurant also remains a hot spot for young couples and people out on dates. Just the other day, someone at the restaurant proposed to their partner.
“Service moves quickly, but we never want to rush anybody,” Rafalowitz said. “We want to make sure everyone has a fair shot at having a seat.”
Rafalowitz hopes that just the simple act of going out to eat with family or going out on a date will help bring some semblance of normalcy back to people’s lives.
Rafalowitz also wants to extend his appreciation to the community for showing their support during these times.
“It means a lot that everyone wants to spend their time and money with us,” he said. “We’ve had a great show of support from the kosher and Jewish community.”
Restaurant hours are slightly limited. Six Thirteen is open Sunday through Thursday from 12 to 9 p.m. and Fridays from 12 to 3 p.m. Reservations are strongly recommended. To make a reservation, please call 203-614-8777.
By Elizabeth Zakaim
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