In the midst of a pandemic, Big Easy Snowballs still makes time to do more than the bare minimum to protect their customers and staff. When it comes to CDC guidelines, Tommy Denis, who owns the establishment along with his wife, works hard to avoid unnecessary health risks for those who they call family.
“We’re all a family. We all have to come together,”Denis said, “we’re all in this together.”
While brainstorming new ways to take care of their customers during this time, Denis decided to close off the lobby and limit the number of guests allowed inside to order.
Following cdc.gov guidelines, he limits customers to 50% indoor occupancy, uses thorough disinfection routines and masks at all times for employees, as well as guests. These rules should be enforced in all restaurants and bars. Denis ensures the safety of everyone by completely removing in-door seating, enforcing masks when inside of the restaurant and constantly cleaning frequently touched surfaces.
Instead of leaving seating for eight people, which is half of their projected seating capacity, Denis decided to eliminate in-door seating altogether at the eatery on North Monroe Street in the Midtown area. This stops people who would be eating their desserts without a mask from being inside and makes it easier to keep customers six feet apart, which protects the health of all incoming customers.
At Big Easy Snowballs, only five customers are permitted to order inside at a time, and they are urged to wait outside for their order. Customers who refuse to wear a mask are only permitted to order outside with a freshly sanitized menu.
Customers can always expect to see every employee with clean gloves, as well as receive sterilized menus during times of high traffic flow to avoid an unbearable increase in wait time.
Payton Williams, a second-year business administration student at FAMU, boasted about her experience and the overall cleanliness during her most recent visit. Williams said that the procedures put in place were noticeable and enforced.
“I felt safe when I walked in,” Williams said. “I could tell that they were actually taking things seriously.”
Big Easy Snowballs’ signature dessert is a “stuffed” snowball with any of the 75 flavors they offer. The shop even makes snowballs for dogs.
Denis prides himself in going above what is required and says that the CDC guidelines are not hard to follow because cleaning procedures have always been stressed to the staff.
“We have got to be safe as a country,” Denis said prior to explaining their takeout procedures.
Any customer who orders take-out or delivery through Big Easy Snowballs or third-party food delivery companies can expect tamper proof tape to enhance the safety of their desserts during the delivery process.