Small business loan helps Hamilton restaurant reopen for carryout after weeks of closure

A Hamilton restaurant is back in business today with a pared down menu for carry-out two days a week.

Fretboard Brewing & Public House customers may preorder online to pick up their dinner Tuesdays and Fridays in the parking lot behind Clark’s Sporting Goods at 15 South B St. Fretboard staffers will deliver the meal to each vehicle.

The re-opening at 103 Main St. follows Ohio’s March 15 order to temporarily suspend dine-in service to minimize the spread of coronavirus. So why did it take nearly seven weeks to get this effort up and running?

“We are not a carry-out restaurant and knew that we couldn’t be profitable, and pay our employees trying to offer carry-out,” said spokeswoman Nancy Parrott. “We wanted our staff to be able to receive unemployment benefits. We received a Payment Protection Loan and are now able to bring our full-time staff back and pay them.”

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Limiting service to just Tuesday and Friday was a matter of fulfilling what Parrott said is Fretboard’s top priority: keeping everyone safe.

“We are offering Tuesday and Friday only because it limits the time that our staff is in the building and the best way for us to provide safe service is by having people preorder online,” she said. “Pre-ordering allows us the time we need to provide high-quality meals and a safe and more efficient pickup experience for our customers. It also helps us to eliminate waste because we know exactly what to order.”

Pickup times may be reserved any time between 5 and 7 p.m. after an order is placed. Preordering for Tuesday opens at noon each Sunday and preordering for Friday opens at noon each Wednesday. Orders for today will be open until 2 p.m. that day.

View the menu at www.fbpublichouse.com/carryout and place your order at www.tinyurl.com/fretboardorder.

Menu items include Fish & Chips, Pub Burger and Pulled Pork BBQ & Pretzel Bun.

Each dish comes with french fries. Gluten-free buns are available for an extra $1.

PHOTOS: Inside the new Fretboard Brewing and Public House in Hamilton

Also available are Clyborne Greens (Fresh local mixed greens, bacon, tomatoes, red onion, sharp white cheddar cheese, house sweet & sour vinaigrette), Spicy Pimiento Dip (fresh tortilla chips, house pimiento dip) and Fretboard Vlad Beer Cheese (fresh pretzel sticks, carrots, celery).

Fresh Donut Holes feature ricotta donut holes, rolled in cinnamon and sugar and served with Fugee Brown Ale caramel sauce for dipping.

Alcohol options include a choice of 14 different beers in 32-ounce crowlers.

Select wines will be available by the bottle.

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Fretboard Brewing & Public House opened in December 2019. Its a collaboration between Fretboard Brewing Company in Blue Ash and Looking Glass Hospitality Group, which owns and operates four other restaurants in Southwest Ohio: TAHONA Kitchen+Bar, S.W. Clyborne Provision & Spirits and Toast & Berry and Emery Mariemont.

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