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Methuselah Bar and Lounge has temporarily suspended business because of an exposure to the novel coronavirus. Owner Yuki Cohen hopes to reopen next week.

Two Popular Restaurants Temporarily Closed Due to COVID-19

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — With the recent uptick of COVID-19 cases in Berkshire County, two well-frequented restaurants have temporarily shut their doors because of exposure to the virus.  
 
Both said they wanted to be transparent to their customers and staff about what had happened.
 
Owner of the Olde Heritage Tavern in Lenox, John McNinch, made the decision to shut down temporarily after two COVID-19 positive customers dined there on different days, and owner of Methuselah Bar and Lounge in Pittsfield, Yuki Cohen, shut the doors temporarily after her staff were exposed.
 
On Wednesday, Cohen made an Instagram post that read: "Please note that due to staffs' exposure to Coronavirus, as a precaution, we will be closed until we know it is safe to get back to work. Stay safe everyone!"
 
Mayor Linda Tyer on Friday reported that the city had seen a spike of 46 COVID-19 cases in the past two weeks. She told WMAC that cases were linked to a party at Mazzeo's that ended up at Methuselah's and to an event at PortSmitt's Lakeway Restaurant. PortSmitt's closed its doors for good last week, citing financial pressures from the pandemic.
 
Cohen hopes to open for business sometime next week. Methuselah is operating with a skeleton crew of just four people, all of whom are young and healthy and Cohen, also a city councilor, said she is thankful for this fact.
 
She said she is being thorough with testing and sanitization, taking all measures to ensure a safe reopening.
 
"It has been really threatening and difficult," she said referring to operating the lounge during the pandemic.
 
McNinch said his restaurant was following the protocols to limit exposure to the novel coronavirus but two customers had failed to quarantine before receiving their test results.
 
"We had a person come in on Monday and then call us Tuesday morning and say they tested positive for COVID-19," he said. "And then the same thing happened the next day, so obviously they had gotten tested because I don't see any rapid testing around here. 
 
"Then instead of being in quarantine they decided to go out to a restaurant and have a meal."
 
Because of this, McNinch made the decision to close down until all his staff is tested and receives negative results. He said the Board of Health and the local COVID-19 tracking nurse did not tell him he had to shut down.
 
McNinch said he made the decision on his own to be extra cautious.
 
"I'm very frustrated, and it's not just the people who did it here, there are people who do it all of the time and it's very frustrating," he said. "The governor just came out with rules and the reason he did is because it is the younger generation who thinks they're infallible and they are frustrated with staying in so they are going out and doing more."
 
McNinch's son was one of the servers who waited on the infected patrons. Because of this, McNinch's wife is not able to visit her mother and aunt at Kimball Farms for 14 days and until she gets tested.
 
He said everything has an effect, and when someone exposes others, it goes down the line.
 
"I think we were out and open, out front and open," McNinch said. "So most people I have talked to are thanking me and reassuring me that the Heritage is always clean and that they always feel safe there."
 
Since reopening after the initial pandemic shutdown, the Heritage has been doing COVID-19 tracking, increasing sanitization, and enforcing social distancing. McNinch wants to make sure that the restaurant's reputation isn't altered by this experience, and so far, patrons have been expressing that they can't wait until restaurant opens back up so they can come back, he said.
 
Cohen was able to stay open through grants, a federal Paycheck Protection Program loan and help from her family.
 
After reopening when indoor dining was allowed, Methuselah had a slow start, doing about 50 percent of normal sales. Toward the fall, when visitors started to come back to Pittsfield, Methuselah reached almost 70 percent, including for takeout food and cocktails.
 
To reduce exposure, she reduced her days and hours and, in preparation for a second surge that could shut down indoor dining, has been putting away money to cover the costs. 
 
She is especially worried about the entire industry going forward.
 
"My restaurant's health is going to recover," Cohen said. "But I wonder if the indoor dining industry is going to recover."
 
Cohen said she and her staff are excited to see Methuselah's customers once they can open again.
 
"I felt really badly," she said referring to the staff's exposure to the virus. "But then I realized that it's a pandemic and there is no blame, it just is at the moment."

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Companion Corner: Glo at the Berkshire Humane Society

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — There's a sweet and playful dog at the Berkshire Humane Society waiting for her new family.

iBerkshire's Companion Corner is a weekly series spotlighting an animal in our local shelters that is ready to find a home.

"Glo is about a one-year-old, sweet female pitty mix who has nothing but love to give," said kennel supervisor Stacey Broderick.

Glo has been at the shelter for about three weeks after unfortunately being kicked out of her previous home.

"She came here because her previous home, she was being crated an awful lot, and unfortunately, was creating a little bit of a raucous when she was left by herself," said Broderick. "So she was just being a little barky, a little loud. Neighbors obviously shared walls in an apartment setting we're complaining to the landlord, and the landlord said, unfortunately, that she had to go."

But since coming to the shelter she has been learning a lot.

"She's been nothing but a sweet little girl ever since she is working on crate training, she has been very good for us. We're practicing it with her. She is also working on her house training. In addition to it, it seems that we had a little bit of a reverse situation going on, where she likes to go potties inside, but we are working very hard, and she is learning so quickly," she said. "So even after just a couple weeks with us, she's been really getting the point to go outside and do all of her potties out there."

She would do best in the home as the only dog and possibly without cats. She would also do best with older children who can understand her needs as she needs less activity than other dogs.

"The perfect home would, because of the necessity for her to have a lower activity level, probably without other dogs, just because she can get a little bit rambunctious when she gets excited around them," Broderick said. "So she could certainly have doggie play dates, but her perfect home would be no dogs. Unfortunately, we do have a bit of a prey drive with kitty cats, so probably leaning away from the cats, unless they're incredibly dog savvy ...

"Probably looking toward a home without super young kids, just so they're not jumping, you know, or leaning, or anything along those lines, and understanding that sometimes she's going to just need a break."

Because of a medical condition she wouldn't be able to go on long hikes or do anything extraneous but she is still very active and playful.

"She is absolutely lovely. She's sweet, she's young, she's playful. She wants to be with her people all the time. She loves toys. She does like going out for walks. We do have a couple of medical things that we can certainly give more information to adopters, too," she said. "We have some hip dysplasia that we're looking at, so probably moderate activity level would be best for her.

"She shouldn't necessarily be going on super long hikes, even though she would love to, but she is young and full of life and full of energy, and wants nothing more than to be with her people."

Since Glo has hip dysplasia she will need to maintain a healthy weight to not add stress to her joints and can also benefit from hydrotherapy.

"It's something that somebody will have to have a good relationship with a veterinarian physical therapists, and then if they were interested in doing a hydrotherapy type situation, it can only help her," Broderick said. "We want to keep those muscles built up in the hind end so that her hips are not taking the brunt of the bone on bone action while she is kind of living out her very best life."

Glo hasn't shown any symptoms or difficulties since being at the shelter, but it is a condition that her owners need to understand and it increases her chances of arthritis as she gets older.

Broderick said Fritters Critters in Lee specializes in pet hydrotherapy.

"They basically work on an underwater treadmill. So that's walking under the water so that she has a little bit of resistance and the water is warm, so that it's optimum for therapeutic benefits," she said. "They do have a pool there, too, where she would be able to do some swimming, and it really gives her the ability to exercise and really extend those joints and build up those muscles without the added pressure of gravity and impact as she's walking or playing or running.

"So the hydrotherapy is a great option for dogs, even if you just want to do it for fun. She could really benefit healthwise, from it, too."

She will also have to stay on her joint mobility food to help her.

But Glo is a very happy and playful dog and loves everyone she sees and is hoping to find someone who will love her just as much to take her home.

"I can't say enough good about her. I know that the hip dysplasia sounds like a scary piece of it, as well as the house training," Broderick said. "But honestly, there was not a friendlier, sweeter, more outgoing, social, wants to be best friends with you, kind of dog. She was in the front lobby this past Saturday, and she met like 10 people at the same time, and just made rounds and loved every single person as they came in."

You can visit Glo at the Berkshire Humane Society and read more about her on the website.

The Berkshire Humane Society is open Tuesday through Sunday. The adoption center is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, and 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday.

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