Moving Forward From Covid-19

2/26/2021

We are resuming our 1st and 3rd Sunday Breakfast Specials in our Cafe. We continue to suggest takeout, with curbside pickup available. We are offering limited indoor and outdoor dining in our Cafe.

September 22, 2020

The Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners on Tuesday extended its State of Local Emergency declaration for COVID-19 through Oct. 2 and delegated the authority for near-future extensions to County Administrator Barry A. Burton until further notice.

The ordinance requiring face coverings and social distancing within public places remains in effect so long as the State of Local Emergency is effective, unless amended or repealed by separate action of the county commission.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Mayor Rick Kriseman signed an executive order requiring residents to wear face masks or coverings in the city of St. Petersburg. According to the executive order, residents must wear face coverings when in any room, space, common area or other locations indoors in St. Pete. The executive order will go into effect on Tuesday, June 23 at 5 p.m.

There are a couple of exceptions:

A person does not have to wear a mask if they are not in a public city area
If they are practicing safe social distancing in groups less than 10
If someone is under 18, it’s left up to a parent/guardian/accompanying adult
If wearing the mask is incompatible with the activity such as eating, drinking, singing, etc.
While exercising or using exercising equipment
During a time that interferes with participation in a religious ritual
If you have trouble breathing, unconscious, unable to remove face-covering w/o assistance
If it’s detrimental to someone’s health/safety/welfare.

If you do not comply with the executive order, you will have to pay a fine.

We will be operating Under Phase 2 Guidelines effective 06/05/20

As we begin the month of June, begin Phase 2, and look forward to returning to some sense of normalcy, I wanted to take a look back at how we were able to cope with and survive the Covid-19 crisis. Although the impact of the pandemic to our business cannot be understated, I can honestly say that there are many positive things to reflect upon.

Health and Safety - We were designated as an essential business, so we never closed our doors. We have always emphasized the highest standards of food safety and sanitization with our staff. Working closely with local health authorities, we developed even stricter Covid-19 Protocols, which helped ensure the health and safety of both our staff and clients. We have all learned a lot in the past weeks, and these lessons will carry forward leading a safer environment for our staff and clients.
The Business Side - With our primary income, Event Catering, at a complete standstill, we turned to our Cafe as our lifeboat. Our Takeout Dinner Specials provided the necessary income to keep our staff busy and most importantly employed throughout the pandemic. In addition, I feel that we have been beneficial to the community by providing safe and secure curbside pickup and delivery. We are humbled by the support all of you have shown to us, it is greatly appreciated by us and our staff. I am also thrilled that we were able to help support the many small businesses that utilize our shared-use commercial kitchen, Florida Chefs Workshop. I am happy to say that the vast majority of those businesses survived the pandemic, and are on their way to recovery.
Community - Our owner, Chef Lisa, and our staff, with the generous help and support of all of you, have served on the "front line" throughout the pandemic. Chef Lisa's "Feeding Our Future Leaders" initiative has supplied over 700 lunches and dinners to local children and their families. Many thanks to her, our staff, all of you, and our local community.

Looking forward, our phone lines are starting to ring again. Couples are booking their weddings, small corporate meetings are starting to resume, and kids are having their birthday parties again. As we begin our transition to whatever the new normal will bring, we are taking the lessons learned through Covid-19 along with us. To continue to ensure the health and safety of our clients, we are continuing our Takeout Dinner Specials with Curbside Pickup and Free Delivery.

Reopening Florida Full Phase 1 - Effective Monday, May 18th, 2020

As we enter phase 1 on May 4th, our team here at A Fresh Connection Catering is focused primarily on your health and safety.

We continue to practice the highest level of safety protocols.

Our Cafe will reopen with 50% seating capacity with required social distancing. We will continue to offer our daily curbside pickup and free delivery specials. For Corporate events, we have removed minimums, delivery charges, and individually packaged the majority of our items on our EZCater Menu.

If you are planning a wedding, corporate event, or private party, we are excited to work with you on the event focusing on social distancing and going above and beyond with Covid-19 safety

Gov. DeSantis Announces

"Safe. Smart. Step-by-Step" Plan

Gov. DeSantis' plan focuses on Florida's recovery and begins with guiding principles for reopening. In addition to addressing critical health considerations and increased testing, Florida’s initial Phase 1 guidelines support the highest level of practicable business operations while maintaining health and safety. It also identifies key metrics upon which next steps will be based.

Phase 1 - Effective Monday, May 4

Schools remain distance learning
Visits to senior living facilities are prohibited
Elective surgeries can resume
Restaurants: Outdoor seating with 6 feet of space between tables and indoor seating at 25% capacity
No change for bars, gyms and personal services such as hair dressers
Vulnerable individuals should avoid close contact with people outside the home
Everyone should maximize physical distance from others when in public
Avoid socializing in groups of more than 10 people in circumstances that do not readily allow for physical distancing
Face masks are recommended for face-to-face interactions and where you can't social distance

The Governor has also released Executive Order 20-112 that further outlines Phase 1 guidelines including responsible individual activity, businesses restricted by previous executive orders, other affected business services and medical procedures.

Update 3/11/2020

A Fresh Connection Catering, Café & Bakery

What AFCC is doing to protect their clients and employees:

First and foremost, the health and well-being of our clients and employees remains our highest priority. The leadership of A Fresh Connection is taking our current health concerns very seriously and requiring our employees to do the same. A Fresh Connection always follows strict local public health guidelines, ensuring that we already have safety protocols and best practices in place. In response to Covid-19 concerns, we are currently:

Conducting an increased cleaning and disinfection program on all surfaces and high-volume touchpoints.
Requiring increased frequency and attention to safe handwashing techniques.
Requiring strict attention to use of protective gloves when required
Requiring strict attention to personal and respiratory hygiene.
Requiring all employees to adhere to procedures outlined by the CDC and local health authorities if they are sick or exposed to anyone who is sick.
We are closely monitoring all updates from the CDC and local health authorities.

If you have any questions or comments regarding our response to Covid-19, please contact us.

Be Informed: Read and stay tuned to the CDC updates on how to protect you and your family.

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/summary.html#anchor_1580064337377

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/summary.html

Update 3/12/20

Additional information is available at https://www.coronavirus.gov

Update 3/21/20

We have closed our Cafe to dine-in seating. Our Chefs here at A Fresh Connection have created an array of innovative take-out options to help feed you and your family during these uncertain times.

Update 4/6/2020

We are offering curbside pickup and Free Delivery at selected times. We have increased our disinfection procedures and have provided all staff with masks to wear while preparing food and interacting with the public.