Upload your vaccination card to easily enter the Club, eat tacos starting June 11
Taco Night will return Friday, June 11, marking the start of the National Press Club’s gradual full reopening of in-person services.
A Club staple held in the Reliable Source bar and grill every Friday night, Taco Night has not occurred since March 13, 2020, due to social distancing concerns related to the coronavirus pandemic that hit that month.
“We will have a soft reopening of the Reliable Source for Taco Night on Friday, June 11. Can I get some? Yay!” Club President Lisa Nicole Matthews said at the Club’s virtual general membership meeting on Thursday, May 20. “The Reliable Source will be open after July 4 with rolling limited service in a test period beginning June 11.”
In order to enter the Club starting on June 11, Club members and guests must be vaccinated. Exceptions will be made for religious or medical reasons. In those situations, a negative coronavirus test within the last 48 hours is required.
Club members can register their vaccination card with Club by going to https://www.press.org/vaxpass. They should complete the form and upload a photo of their vaccination card. Their vaccination status will be recorded on their Kastle Key fob or in the Club’s mobile app.
Club members having difficulty uploading their vaccination card should contact [email protected]. Those without a key fob or mobile access should contact [email protected].
Guests of members must provide a photo ID and proof of vaccination or a negative test upon entry to the Club.
Club members and guests who are not vaccinated must wear masks while in the Club. People who are vaccinated will not need to wear masks but can do so if they choose.
“The vaccination card is your key to the good times we’ve all been waiting for,” Matthews said.
The Club was closed to in-person activities from mid-March to mid-June of last year. The Reliable Source reopened for dining-in from mid-June until late December, when it was suspended again.
The Club has remained partially reopened to in-person services since last June. The operation includes food takeout, which can be consumed in the Reliable Source. Over the past year, reservations have been required before members can enter the Club. After June 11, there no longer will be a reservation mandate.
Taco Night on June 11 will be the first time the Reliable Source has been open for in-person dining since December. Reservations are recommended to attend the relaunch.
GRADUAL REOPENING
But the happy-hour event will be different from the pre-pandemic version Club members knew. For instance, there will not be a taco bar in the kitchen where participants can make their own tacos. Instead, the taco fixings will be delivered on a tray by Club wait staff.
That’s not the only difference members will see as the Club ramps up in-person services. Another example is that showers in the gym may not be used due to restrictions imposed by the District of Columbia government.
Matthews asked Club members to be patient during the transition.
“Our reopening process is going to be gradual,” she said. “Everything is going to be a little different. This is a new world we’re in. It’s pandemic purgatory. We’re going through it together.”
The Club business model likely will change as it emerges from the pandemic. Events will have smaller in-person attendance augmented by many online participants.
“We see the business of the future being smaller, digital hybrid events,” Matthews said. “These events might be 25 to 40 people in the room and hundreds more online. The online audience can see the room and some of the room can see the online audience. The reality is until more people feel comfortable attending in-person events, the Club will need to adjust to the current demands of our membership and, of course, our customers.”
CLUB BUSINESS: SLOW CLIMB BACK
The Club is projecting a slow climb out of the substantial slowdown in food, beverage and room rental business caused by the pandemic. It suffered a multi-million-dollar loss last year and projects another one this year. Profitability – at a lower level than pre-pandemic – may not return until 2023.
The Club has tapped federal loans and bank lines of credit to sustain operations during the pandemic while preserving its short-term and long-term investment balances, including funds related to the sale of a Rockwell painting in 2015.
“We believe we will have enough financial resources to get us through and into the second half of 2022, when the business becomes more meaningful,” Matthews said. “Ideally, we will emerge with the Rockwell funding intact and enough capital to operate our business.”
One of the primary sources of revenue as the Club emerges from the pandemic will be membership dues. Club membership has fallen from 2,902 to 2,844 since April 2020, a smaller drop than might have been expected.
FULLY VACCINATED STAFF
The Club has furloughed more than half of its pre-pandemic staff of about 107. Club staffers who remained on the job agreed to a 15% pay cut. Members have contributed about $40,000 to the Staff Support Fund to provide groceries for furloughed employees.
There are about 44 staffers currently working in the Club, and each of them who interacts with Club members or clients is fully vaccinated, said Club Executive Director Bill McCarren.
“This group has been working here since June for the most part,” McCarren said. “None of that is easy. But they’re excited about being able to see people again and serve members again.”
Furloughed staff will be brought back as business starts to return, probably beginning in the fall, McCarren said.
COMFORT LEVEL
He noted that staff will continue to wear masks for a couple of months even though they’re vaccinated. Matthews said she may wear a mask, too, when she’s in the Club.
“It’s all about comfort level, folks,” Matthews said.
Matthews will do her part to provide comfort by welcoming members back when she sees them in the Club.
“I am totally open for hugs, even with a mask on,” she said.