Jonathan Yeager
Decades
Decades handled the shutdowns as best we could, given the circumstances. We were allowed to operate for takeout, but as of March 2020, we had never offered takeout. We tried it for about a week, but it didn’t really make sense to keep it going, so we shut down fully. We unfortunately had to lay off all of our staff. We tried to make it easier for them by guiding them through the unemployment process to ensure they would be receiving funds.
We knew that we had to get creative in order to survive, given that we were only open for a year. When we reopened in early May, we offered takeout by pre-order only; that was a good way to create demand and get back on our guests’ radars and into the swing of things. We wanted to keep service moving as much as we could to keep the staff that we had busy. In mid-May, we came out with our cocktail pouches, which were a hit. They had a nostalgic vibe to them, reminiscent of Capri Suns. We knew we had to try to stand out, so we did our best to offer unique takeout options. We also served a giant soft pretzel for a while and it got some attention. We did not offer outdoor dining in 2019, but we had planned on it in the future. Once we found out we were able to offer outdoor dining, we worked fast with Benchmark Construction and designed planter boxes to spruce up the outside of the building to get ready for outdoor dining. It was great to be able to offer that to guests who had been wanting to get out after being quarantined for months. In late fall 2020, we introduced a breakfast menu for takeout only. It went well for a few months, but for us to be able to expand our hours into the evenings, we had to stop serving breakfast. For the holidays, we offered prepared Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners, which were great for keeping our limited staff busy.
We will most likely continue some of these options—including takeout, cocktail pouches, and holiday dinners. However, the real excitement is being in Decades with your family and friends, enjoying some delicious food, cocktails, and beer, playing an old arcade game or throwing some rocks down the lane while you listen to some ‘80s music.
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Decades
438 N. Queen Street
Lancaster, PA 17603
decadeslancaster.com
(717) 282-1421
