No steins, table limits at this year’s beer garden

You may hear people toasting “prosit” at Port Washington’s beer gardens this year, but they won’t be hoisting steins.

That’s because, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, servers won’t fill drinking glasses people bring from home this year. Beer will only be sold in disposable cups or cans, which people can then pour into their own drinkware.

That’s only one of the changes people will see when they attend the beer gardens, which open July 4 and run through Oct. 17 with the exception of July 18.

Servers will don masks and gloves, and they will have specific tasks such as handling money, serving food or dispensing beverages.

Customers will place their order, which will be delivered to them at their table. Tables will be spaced apart so customers can maintain social distancing, and a maximum 10 people will be allowed to sit at each table.

“We’re trying to avoid lines,” Recreation Director Kiley Schulte told the Parks and Recreation Board last week. 

There will be the same number of tables for the beer gardens, she noted, they will just be spread out.

“The tables will be wiped down regularly, and they’ll be using all disposable cups and silverware,” she said.

Signs will be used to notify the public of the rules and regulations, Schulte added.

Fencing won’t be used to mark off the beer garden and limit access, the board was told.

It’s too difficult to put fencing up and take it down for the beer gardens, especially since the area is also rented out for other events on weekends, Parks Director Jon Crain said.

Ald. Jonathan Pleitner, a member of the board, noted that it will take plenty of staffing to ensure the groups are able to handle the tasks.

“Do we feel all these groups have enough volunteers that they can fulfill these duties?” he asked.

Board members agreed to monitor the beer gardens to see how things are going, and Schulte will be in charge of notifying subsequent hosts of issues and how to deal with them.

It may be difficult to get people to comply with the new rules, some board members said.

“I think you’re going to have to do this trial by fire,” board member Sue Kinas said. “It sounds good on paper, but in reality we may need to make adjustments.”

“There’s a pent-up frustration you can almost feel walking around,” Board Chairman Ron Voigt said. “I think this is going to be very successful.”

That’s especially true since there are few other events happening, especially on the Fourth of July, Ald. Mike Gasper, a board member, said.

“This is a wild new world for everybody.”

If groups don’t comply with the new rules, the board said, beer gardens can be closed down — a fact Schulte said will be emphasized on the signboards.

“We want people to understand this is the way it’s got to be this year,” she said.