UPDATED: 04/15/20 9:05 a.m.
Last week, Joel Davis, who owns Union by Commune + Co. at Armature Works in Tampa Heights, told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay that he knew the food hall was doing the right thing by voluntarily closing down on March 16.
Davis—who teamed up with Tampa artist Jujo to launch a relief T-shirt for staff—also said that not being able to have takeout and delivery was “something that really hurt us.”
But that’s finally changing starting Thursday, April 16, when select Armature Works vendors begin offering takeout and delivery, utilizing their own online ordering systems.
Creative Loafing Tampa Bay confirmed that Union by Commune+Co. is among those opening on Thursday.
In a Wednesday morning press release, Armature Works said that five additional vendors—Zukku Sushi, Cuban food spot Kuba (FKA Hemingway's), Butcher N' Barbecue, wood-fired pizza joint Ava and Astro Ice Cream—are also opening on Thursday, April 16. Two more vendors—vegan-favorite Dixie Dharma and Ichicoro Imoto ramen-ya—will open on Monday, April 20.
With the reopening of Zukku at Armature Works, the sushi restaurant's operation at 717 South in South Tampa will stop immediately.
All vendors will operate seven days a week, 11 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Only online orders will be accepted, but a curbside pickup area at the N. Ola Avenue entry of the Heights Public Market is available for customers to place online orders from their vehicles.
Customers are not allowed to walk into Armature Works, and food pick up is curbside only. Armature Works does not encourage or promote walk-up, but it does have a process in place in case someone does walk-up to pick up their food.
“I’m gonna work it alone to see if I can get rent paid at least,” Davis told CL on Tuesday morning. “I hope to add staff if I can support it or if I get the Paycheck Protection Loan to pay them.”
“After four plus weeks of full closure we are very happy to allow our vendors the opportunity to now use their kitchens for both takeout and delivery, with very strict guidelines,” Chas Bruck, Co-Developer for The Heights District and Armature Works wrote in the release.
“We fully appreciate and understand how much our vendors have needed this opportunity, but we felt it was more important at the time to close in a proactive effort to slow the spread of COVID-19. Further, the last four weeks have allowed us to research and observe best practices to better ensure the safety of our guests, employees and vendors.”
Some of the safety and sanitation measures Armature Works and its vendors are taking include the use of face masks, sanitizer and disposable gloves, social distancing within Armature Works, plus the cleaning and sanitation of all contact areas within stalls and market.
There are also required temperature readings for all employees entering the building and a commitment from employees to adhere to all guidelines away from Armature Works.
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This article appears in Apr 9-15, 2020.