Barstool Sports offers support to Hartford tavern
HARTFORD — A haven for the politically connected, the ink stained and locals alike, one of Hartford’s oldest restaurants, the Red Rock Tavern, got an unexpected gift this week when the founder of Barstool Sports pledged thousands of dollars to help with expenses as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to gut neighborhood haunts.
Anchoring a stretch of Capitol Avenue just blocks from the state Capitol and a quick stroll from the Hartford Courant, the Red Rock Tavern — still known as Kenney’s to old timers — has fueled and fed decades of lawmakers, press men and women, civil servants and city folks while giving back with free meals at the holidays to food donations to those on the front line.
But with COVID-19 keeping many people home amid restrictions from the state, restaurants like the Red Rock Tavern have been pushed to the brink for months, unable to rely on nebulous and intermittent support from the government.
This is where Dave Portnoy, the founder of Barstool Sports and champion for New Haven pizza, stepped in to offer a lifeline.
What started last week as a $500,000 fund to support a handful of small businesses has swelled to $2.5 million with donations flooding in from more than 36,000 people. Portnoy, in a video, spoke of the struggle restaurants are facing and the uncertain help these businesses were getting from the government.
Aheartfelt video fromthe daughter of the Red Rock’s owner, Don Mancini, struck a chord. Portnoy called Mancini Monday to offer up some dough — about $12,000.
“That’s unbelievable. I’m pretty speechless right now,” DonMancini is heard telling Portnoy in a video of the call shared by the Barstool Sports founder on Twitter.
Portnoy nods to the video, and said: “I’m glad she sent it in. You are the exact type of people we are trying to help out with this kind of thing.”
Since the onset of the pandemic in March, swift orders from Gov. Ned Lamont kept people out of restaurants for months. Slowly, the restrictions were rolled back, first allowing limited outside dining before permitting restaurant owners to fill a percentage of inside tables. Since spring, bars have been closed with little sign recently that the order will be lifted.
“It’s been tremendous that he would even think about people like us. It shows you how good people really are,” Mancini said. At first, Mancini was unaware that his kids had reached out to Barstool Sports or his daughter had made the video until they let him know to pick up his phone.
“He was unbelievable. He was so down to earth, a tremendous individual. I thanked him numerous times from me, my family, the staff ... I was speechless when he called me,” Mancini said, joking that it was the first time he had ever used FaceTime.
Since the onset of the pandemic in March, the state has restricted restaurants, forcing hundreds to close, according to the Connecticut Restaurant Association. The Red Rock has been able to remain open because it serves meals, unlike bars that have been forced to remain closed.
Run by Don Mancini’s family for at least 80 years, the Red Rock Tavern has felt the bitter strain of the pandemic. Mancini said business has dwindled, somewhere between 60 and 80%, but he has kept his staff on.
“It’s hard on everybody, the staff, you sit here and there’s nobody here,” Don Mancini said.
Hehas kept his employees on during the pandemic. For the third-generation owner of the Red Rock Tavern, it has not been about making money personally during the pandemic, but paying the bills and his employees, so they can support their families.
“You feel bad, you send somebody home an hour early. They didn’t make any money and there’s nobody here. You’ve got to try to save a dollar to pay the electricity and the mortgage and all the things that come at the end of the month,” Mancini said.
Mancini’s kids saw the post last week from Barstool Sports about the small business fund and thought this was their chance to share the tavern’s storied place in Hartford.
“Something just kind of hit me: I think Dave is really speaking to people like dad, we’ve got such a great story here with the business and my family and we should share,” Chelsey Mancini, Don’s daughter, said.
Her video quickly picked up traction when posted by Portnoy on social media, and messages have come in from across the country. Some just say hello, others offer words of support from afar.
“It means so much to us,” said Chelsey Mancini, who calls herself Fourth Generation Red Rock.
Though for hundreds of Connecticut restaurants, the pandemic and government restrictions were enough to cause permanent damage.
The Connecticut Restaurant Association said last month that roughly 600 establishments across the state closed because of the pandemic, and leaders there know that number has only grown in recent weeks.
Down the street from the Red Rock, the upscale restaurant, Firebox, closed its doors after 13 years in June. Other popular spots in the city, like Dish Bar & Grill on Main Street, have also shuttered.
And the holidays, typically a busy stretch for restaurants, have not offered much relief with few parties and little catering.
“These last few weeks have been one of the most challenging times our industry has faced almost ever,” said Scott Dohl, executive director of the restaurant association.
This week Connecticut announced $35 million in grants to small businesses that should help a number of restaurants, officials said, and Congress passed a $900 billion COVID-19 bill that provides additional money to businesses like restaurants.
“We are going to need help from everybody. We are going to need help from the state and federal government but we are going to need help from the community to keep these businesses alive,” Dohl said.