Stop The Internets - Quinn's Will Reopen, But With New Rules: Admission Price & Proof of Vaxx

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The subject line of Quinn’s press release announcing their reopening (again) had a kicker at the end of it: “Joe McPhee 82nd Birthday Kicks Off Return of Live Music at Quinn's in Beacon NY (We Mean It This Time!)” Very cute and real, as everyone flows with the pandemic times.

Days before most people woke up to the raging Delta variant, Quinn’s had announced an aggressive lineup of long awaited jazz performances, including a clever “Joevember” themed month of November featuring musicians named Joe.

Shortly after that, Quinn’s announced a last call for a pause on their being open at all. In that time, the parklets (outside dining on the street) had been picked up, and their loyal customers began dreaming of ways to help them reopen.

This week’s reopening announcement will come with a sigh of relief, but it also comes with a new set of directions: live performances now require an admission price to enter; and there’s a new definition of getting carded - Quinn’s is carding for proof of vaccination. Masks will also be required for admission during all live performances.

Quinn’s will be open for food dining during non-performance days as well. Check with them for latest hours and days.

Quinn’s is the second restaurant (that we know of) to require proof of vaccination. The Roundhouse in Beacon has also imposed this rule, which begins today. All restaurants, bars and gyms in New York City are also requiring proof of vaccination, as are Broadway theaters. The Los Angeles City Council voted to require vaccinations for restaurants, bars, gyms, shopping centers, entertainment venues, and personal care establishments.

Normally, during a pause in a performance, band members go around the restaurant with a donation box, hoping people will give cash. With this new policy, performers are guaranteed a payment. Initiating the new policy, read the press release, “will be a celebration of the 82nd birthday of our dear friend, Hudson Valley legend and internationally recognized multi-instrumental titan, Joe McPhee (pictured above), on his actual birthday: Wednesday, November 3 at 8:30 PM. Admission for this very special event will be $20.”

The next performance will be the iconic Beacon punk band Ate Bit, with special guest Social Standards opening. Making it up as they go along (which is the beauty of running your own business), is a twist to “Joevember” with two musicians not named Joe scheduled to perform: Jessica Jones and Tony Jones on November 15th.

From the press release: “Highlights of Saturday night concerts include a devastating one-two punch from one of our favorite Beacon bands, Knock Yourself Out. First, on Second Saturday, November 13, we present KYO Surfers, featuring members of Knock Yourself Out, Dirt Bikes, and The Nighttimes performing songs by the infamous Texas psych-punk band Butthole Surfers — then, on Saturday, December 18, KYO bids us all farewell with their final performance, joined by special guest musicians Mimi Sun Longo, Daria Grace, Jonny Taylor, and Ken Fox. Other Saturday highlights include the bands 100 and Zero with opener Wall of Ego on November 20, and another Hudson Valley legend, DJ Bill Skillz, brings his Diggin' in the Crates Radio Roadshow back into Quinn's during Thanksgiving weekend on November 27.”

The upcoming schedule is listed below, but do check first before going, as dates and status could change.

MONDAY JAZZ SESSIONS (except for Wednesday 11/3):
8:30 PM EACH NIGHT, $15 CASH ADMISSION

NOVEMBER
11/3 Joe McPhee 82nd Birthday Celebration
11/8 Joe Giardullo w/ Vance Provey, Billy Stein and Harvey Sorgen
11/15 Jessica Jones/Tony Jones and Friends
11/22 Joe Fiedler's Open Sesame "Fuzzy and Blue" Record Release Party, w/ Jeff Lederer, Steven Bernstein, Sean Conly and Michael Sarin
11/29 Joseph Vincent Tranchina w/ Robert Kopec and Don Devine

DECEMBER
12/6 Mike Dopazo
12/13 Eric Person's Music of Ronald Shannon Jackson Project w/ Neil Alexander, Robert Kopec and Dean Sharp
12/20 Karl Berger & Friends

JANUARY
1/10 Iris Ornig
1/17 MLK Day 2022 Celebration w/ Ray Blue

SATURDAY NIGHT CONCERTS:
9 PM EACH NIGHT, $10 CASH ADMISSION (except for 11/27)

NOVEMBER
11/6 Ate Bit/Social Standards
11/13 KYO Surfers: Music of Butthole Surfers
11/20 100 and Zero/Wall of Ego
11/27 DJ Bill Skillz' Diggin' in the Crates Radio Roadshow (holiday open house — no cover, donations requested)

DECEMBER
12/18 Knock Yourself Out Farewell Performance, w/ Mimi Sun Longo, Daria Grace, Jonny Taylor, and Ken Fox

Last Call At Quinn's - For Now - The Restaurant And Music Venue Pauses To Reassess

One month after the announcement of an aggressive and celebratory live music lineup, Quinn’s has announced they will be closing temporarily to reassess how to move forward in a COVID-19 era with the current variant, Delta, circulating.

As posted on their FB page on September 10, 2021: “Quinn’s will be taking a big ol’ breather as we assess how best to venture forward. We adore this community and are hopeful to return. That being said, stop by tonight for a drink (or several) as we all say “see you later.” We will be closed tomorrow and onward. Stay tuned for updates”

First indicated on September 2, 2021, the venue announced that their music lineup would be postponed for September, but the restaurant would remain open.

Just over half of Dutchess County is vaccinated. Vaccinations have proven to decrease the severity of illness for those who do get infected. Non-vaccinated people’s bodies are contributing to the mutation of variants, which is keeping the pandemic alive and dangerous.

Quinn's Returns To Live Music - Schedule Set For Saturdays and Monday Jazz Sessions (with a sprinkling of "Joe" Sessions)

Quinn’s opened under new ownership 8 years ago, keeping the decor and much-loved vibe of the diner-like eatery, but changed the focus to be a destination for jazz music and live performances. The menu also changed to offer renowned Japanese homestyle cuisine, a case of craft beers, sakes, whiskies and much more. When the pandemic shut them down, the music scene stopped as well, starving musicians from the live audience they crave.

Until now….Starting on Saturday, September 11th, Quinn’s is turning on the lights and setting up the stage for an fully stocked musical lineup on Saturdays and Mondays Jazz Sessions, with a sprinkling of performances on those days by people named Joe. Quinn’s is dubbing that “Joevember”

Kicking it off on Saturday, September 11th at 9am will be Beacon punk band Ate Bit, featuring the long-running Hudson Valley band Social Standards opening. The following Monday, September 13th at 8:30pm, the first Monday Jazz Session will be alto saxophonist Mike Dopazo, leading a trio featuring Adam Coté on bass, and Dave Berger on drums.

Quinn’s Is A Destination In The Jazz World & Other Genres

Quinn’s is one of the premier live music venues in the Hudson Valley. Beaconites may not realize what jazz gem is located behind that iconic brown brick wall decorated with pictures of Ramen dishes. To help you realize, we went to one of the - if not the - top jazz critic in the country - Nate Chinen. Nate is a former Beaconite who left this place for Philadelphia in order to have better commute to his radio job as Director of Editorial Content for WBGO 88.3FM, as well as a bigger yard for his family and pandemic dog.

To give you a background on Nate, so that his quote has context: Nate was a music critic for The New York Times for 12 years, and helmed a long-running column for JazzTimes. In addition to his editorial work for WBGO, Nate works with the multiplatform program Jazz Night in America and contributes a range of coverage to NPR Music. He is author of Playing Changes: Jazz For the New Century (buy it at Binnacle Books in Beacon! they can order any book for you), published in hardcover by Pantheon in 2018, and in paperback by Vintage in 2019. Hailed as one of the Best Books of the Year by NPR, GQ, Billboard, and JazzTimes, it's a chronicle of jazz in our time, and an argument for the music's continuing relevance. It has also been published internationally, in Italian and Spanish editions.

Nate is coauthor of Myself Among Others: A Life in Music, the 2003 autobiography of festival impresario and producer George Wein, which earned the JJA’s award for Best Book About Jazz.

And while we're gushing, Nate is a 13-time winner of the Helen Dance–Robert Palmer Award for Excellence in Writing, presented by the Jazz Journalists Association, as well as a co-host for the podcast Jazz United for WBGO. Here’s what he had to say to ALBB about Quinn’s reopening for live music:

“I moved to Beacon from the West Village in 2009, and assumed that my days of walking down the street to a world-class jazz gig were over. I got here just in time to catch the tail end of Quinn’s as a diner (great blueberry pancakes!) — and then, after a dormant period, it reopened as a music venue. To my great and pleasant surprise, it became a go-to stop for improvised music, often featuring the very same artists I would see in the city, like Mary Halvorson, Matt Wilson and Joe McPhee.

“Beyond the extraordinary quality of the booking, Quinn’s is remarkable for its atmosphere — what’s probably best described as a “vibe.” The no-cover policy means that anyone can enjoy the music, and it creates a festive feeling in the room. If every American city the size of Beacon had a room like this, you wouldn’t hear so much about the plight of jazz in our culture. I wish the best to the club as it reopens, and look forward to my next hang there.”

Other artists who have performed at Quinn’s include: “Wilco guitarist Nels Cline to Japanese pop-punk icons Shonen Knife; from the Malian Tuareg rockers Mdou Moctar to Czech avant-garde violinist/vocalist Iva Bittová; from psychedelic free guitar freak Eugene Chadbourne to MacArthur ‘genius’ grantee Mary Halvorson; from Captain Beefheart/Jeff Buckley guitarist Gary Lucas to Downtown jazz legend William Parker; from otherworldly power trio Sun of Goldfinger (Tim Berne/David Torn/Ches Smith) to the Colossus of Poughkeepsie himself, multi-instrumentalist Joe McPhee, among many other outstanding artists. Mike Faloon's celebrated book The Other Night at Quinn's details many of these unforgettable performances.”

COVID-19 Cautions: Quinn’s Is Monitoring

While we are in Year 2 of the COVID-19 Pandemic, and some people vaccinated, restaurants are trying to avoid shutdowns, and their customers are just as eager to have the option to continue to dine and dance inside. They state in their press release: “Please note: we are closely monitoring the ongoing COVID Pandemic and, based on guidance from the CDC and state health authorities, may be forced to revise our schedule without notice.”

Keep up with their changes and announcements, as well as food features at Instagram and Facebook.

The Musical Lineup

Quinn's is located at 330 Main St. in Beacon, NY and its phone number is (845) 202-7447. All listed concerts are no cover, but donations for the artists are requested and greatly appreciated. Bring cash, as the artists walk around to collect from everyone in attendance.

As of today, Quinn’s schedule is as follows:

SATURDAY CONCERTS:
9/11: Ate Bit/Social Standards
9/25: Knock Yourself Out — final KYO performance (!!!)
10/2: 100 and Zero/Wall of Ego
11/13: KYO Surfers — Butthole Surfers tribute w/ former Knock Yourself Out members + special guests

MONDAY JAZZ SESSIONS:
9/13: Mike Dopazo Trio — w/ Adam Coté and Dave Berger
9/20: Eric Person's Music of Ronald Shannon Jackson Project — w/ Neil Alexander, Robert Kopec + Dean Sharp
10/4: Two Sisters, Inc. — w/ Claire Daly, Dave Sewelson, Dave Hofstra + Michael Sarin
10/18: Pete Levin Trio — w/ Mike DiMicco + Jeff "Siege" Siegel (the last musicians to play Quinn's in March 2020!)
10/25: Adam Lane Trio — w/ Nick Lyons and Vijay Anderson
12/6: Matt Pavolka Band w/ Ben Monder, Santiago Leibson + Allan Mednard
12/13: Ted Daniel's International Brass + Membrane Corps — w/ Charles Burnham, Joe Daley and Newman Taylor Baker
12/20: Karl Berger Group

JOEVEMBER!!!
All Mondays in November to be led by musicians named Joe, including:
11/1: Joe McPhee 82nd Birthday Celebration
11/8: Joe Giardullo
11/15: Joe Daley Exploratory Project
11/22: Joe Fiedler's Open Sesame — w/ Jeff Lederer, Sean Conly + Michael Sarin
11/29: Joe Hertenstein

Other Live Music Venues In Beacon

Other established eateries have turned on the microphones as well. Towne Crier Cafe has reopened their famous stage for live music, and on the other side of town, the stage is also lit at Dogwood. Open Mic Nights are abound, including on the back patio of Beacon Bread Company.

Beacon Restaurant Owners Respond To 10pm Alcohol Curfew: The Grill Is Hot

As coronavirus cases surge across the country, with states like North Dakota declaring that their hospitals are 100% at capacity and they don’t have enough nurses who are not infected, while Ohio warns that their hospitals may soon be over-capacity, and every day the United States out-does itself with the next highest record, Governor Cuomo nipped it by nixing late night drinking after 10pm at bars and restaurants. They can continue to cook for to-go orders, but in-person service will stop. Gatherings at home are limited to 10 people, and gyms must also close at 10pm.

At first blush, this seems to target canoodling. As one 8 year old observed: “Everybody knows that COVID cases are coming from people kissing at bars.” The truth may be that infections are spreading at home as people get lax in their social circles. With Thanksgiving coming up, Governor Cuomo just decided for you on if you were merging with another family, depending on the size of yours. Which may be good, as family table talk could get fiery with the election still in the rear view mirror.

For some restaurants in Beacon, the surge in take-out, delivery, parklets (seating in the street) and new safety measures have helped keep their businesses alive. We checked with business owners in Beacon to see how this curfew will impact them, interviews with some are below.

The eateries most impacted will most likely be Hudson Valley Food Hall, with the limitation of the Roosevelt Bar, Barb’s Fry Works, who just opened a stall inside HV Food Hall to cater to the late night drinking crowd, and The Beacon Hotel, who is known for their late night lounge service.

Max’s On Main, one of the original a late-nighters in the game, pivoted already to focus on food and take-out. The Eat Church Food Truck used to be hunkered down at Industrial Arts Brewing on Rte. 52, but long ago pulled up the pins and was serving from Marbled Meat Shop in Cold Spring, and will bounce to Kingston next. Sadly, Joe’s Irish Pub, announced their permanent closure and retirement in early November 2020.

We interviewed several owners below, and heard from others as well.

Some Restaurants Already Started Closing At Or By 10pm

MEYERS OLD DUTCH
Meyers Old Dutch (MOD) owner and chef Brian Arnoff used to have a weekend late night crowd, but stopped when he re-opened during the pandemic. “Since COVID started, we’ve been closing by 10pm anyways. We used to stay open until midnight on Friday and Saturday nights. Thankfully, this shouldn’t impact us. At least for now anyways.”

CHILL WINE BAR
Jim Svetz, owner of Chill Wine Bar, is also able to proceed, saying: “Thankfully this won’t impact us that much, since we reopened with already limited hours Friday and Saturdays, from 5pm-10pm. So no change here. I think most places with limited indoor seating will have a difficult time this winter. But we will get through this together.”

HOMESPUN
New owner of Homespun, Joe Robitaille, who is a wine expert (aka sommelier), has increased the amount of wine bottles and specialty beer they sell from the store, which “has helped us so much,” he told us when mulling over Thanksgiving and catering options. Look for a possible fire-pit and heaters in the back garden, but that is not confirmed yet.

BANK SQUARE COFFEE HOUSE
Bank Square Coffee House is a coffee house that caters to a beer crowd for day-drinking and lightly into the evening. Says their manager: “I do believe it might impact our weekend crowd. Now with winter coming along, we depend a lot on our weekday regulars and our occasional busy weekends. Now with not many people being able to stay out late, I think we might see a little less of a weekend crowd. Fortunately, we close at 8pm even on weekends, so we won’t get too impacted.”

Late Night Bars With Food Who Pivoted With The First Re-Opening

QUINN’S
Quinn’s was one of the last restaurants in Beacon to re-open, waiting until summer. For this latest restriction, Quinn’s manager, Stamper, was feeling prepared: “After our hiatus between May and August, we re-opened understanding that we would not be a late night place again for a long while. With this in mind, we shifted our hours to incorporate lunch and closing at 9pm. With the removal of Main Street parklets, losing our outdoor dining, we’ve recently opened up indoor at an exclusive capacity, and with new hours: 5pm-11pm. This change was so fresh, that most customers still assume our kitchen is only open until 9pm, and so orders taper off around then. Ultimately, we’re losing an hour, but the bulk of our business is kept between the 5pm-9pm hours, and I’m certain as word spreads, folks will hang at Quinn’s until 10pm. Thank you!”

MAX’S ON MAIN
Max’s on Main is where you go where everybody knows your name, at practically any time of the day. You need a Blondie dessert at 11pm after having a great dinner at Dogwood? You go to Max’s. However, after the re-opening, they too shifted their late night bar scene to be heavy in food. We caught up with Jesse Kaplan, son of co-owner Richie Kaplan, and bar tenders Stephanie and Mary.

Said Jesse: “We were one of the business that served food the latest. Our customers know that we are available here later than some other places, and they have been very supportive of that. We are going to take a hit for that. But, we care about everybody being safe. If this is what we have to do to help the community be safe, then we are all in favor. I would never want to put the community at risk. We have been very careful here about everything. Face masks. Sanitation. Temperature. If we have to close at 10pm, that’s what we’re going to do.”

Will alcohol sales hurt Max’s? Jesse explains: “Our identity changed a little bit as a result of the pandemic. We made the decision to operate the business more as a restaurant once the pandemic hit, with an understanding that we would lose those alcohol sales, but our customers and our staff would feel more safe.”

Delivery is now available at Max’s. Right now, the crew is driving. “We all have been pitching in. Richie takes a delivery. I have been known to take a delivery or two. Stephanie (a bartender and former reporter and student in cyber crime) will take one one the way home at the end of her shift. The staff has really stepped up to pitch in.”

Stephanie chimed in to say that right away after the pandemic started, the community was very supportive and ordered a lot of food. Jesse recalls phone-in orders, where people will say: “Hi, I’m calling in an order, and I ordered from Brother’s earlier, and the Diner yesterday. I want to do my part to support restaurants in town. We are very thankful for that.”

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True Late Night Bars Are Digging In

HUDSON VALLEY FOOD HALL VIA THE ROOSEVELT BAR
Owner of the Hudson Valley Food Hall (HV Food Hall), Marko Guzijan was cruising right along with the bar business at the Roosevelt Bar until 1am, which was doing so well that Barb’s Butchery, who enjoys popping up on Main Street at the Farmer’s Market from time to time from her home base of Spring Street, had just opened a stall inside the food hall called Barb’s Fry Works, which catered to the hungry late night crowd. HV Food Hall is very spacious inside, with tall ceilings, and has a generous patio on their corner lot.

Said Marko, who was looking forward focusing on his 40th birthday: “The late night crowd has been very good for us. Barb’s Fry Works just opened, and her business model is based on staying open with the bar. So it’s a big hit. Everyone in the Food and Beverage business wants to do the right thing. If shutting down helps end the pandemic, then let’s do it. But it feels like the Governor just keeps punching down and hurting Food and Beverage businesses.

“We try to follow the rules. We implement new business models, and then the Governor changes it all up and offers us nothing in return. We have to help out with overhead and bills. Central Hudson still charges the same rate, Optimum charges the same rate, our insurance is based on the size of the business, but our business is cut by over half. I think all small businesses will do what is best for the greater good, but it feels like we are the ones taking the larger hit on our business.”

What new things has HV Food Hall done to accommodate the pandemic? Marko describes: “The food hall bar business model for us is fast/casual and self-service. With the new restrictions, we have had to hire more staff (2 hosts, 2 servers, a barback, and 2 busboys). Now we need to figure out if we need that staff anymore. I really don’t want to lay people off in a pandemic, but might not have a choice.

“We have limited our seating because of the 6 feet rule, which has forced us to turn people away at times. Because of the food rule, the bar will buy food for patrons instead of forcing them to spend more money on something they don’t want. We have 25+ staff in the whole food hall, and have not had a single positive test. When someone doesn’t feel well, they stay home and close the stall. We then pay for a commercial cleaning company to come in and deep clean everything, at a cost of almost $1,000. Five guys in hazmat suits spend 4-5 hours going over every inch of the food hall. We do these things and we’ve never had a staff member test positive.

“As the rules keep changing, we start running our business in fear. At any point, the Governor can send people in and take away the liquor license. I would love to have live music for Saturday and Sunday brunch, but can’t get clarification on if it is allowed or not. So I don’t let it happen, even though a few of the chefs have pushed for it.”

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THE BEACON HOTEL
The Beacon Hotel was fully renovated a few years ago by a different ownership team. Jon Lombardi started as the general manager there, and is now co-owner. Under his management, The Beacon Hotel has become an eatery for all times: brunch, lunch, dinner, and operates as a lounge in the evening. Jon was walking past his restaurant when we caught up with him. When asked about the change, he didn’t flinch. “We’re ready. I’ve got my flyer. I’ve got my to-go glasses.”

Jon is never one without ideas, and has inspired his pandemic survival package with a “Last Call: 10pm” theme. Patrons can order to-go shots with group discounts, different cocktails in cute mason jars, and perhaps the best part: if you bring back your mason jar for a refill the next day or days later, you get a discount. Food has always been available to go at The Beacon Hotel, and continues to be, which includes rotating specials and themes for whatever is going on.

There are other bar/restaurants in town, but we did not get their definitive plans in time for this article. Wishing everyone the best, and to keep on ordering.

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