The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
El Ponce sticks with pickup and delivery
Owners of Midtown Tex-Mex restaurant not in a hurry to reopen.
Normally bustling boulevards like Ponce de Leon Avenue practically were empty from late March through April, as people hunkered down to evade the highly contagious COVID-19 virus. Now that businesses have been cleared to reopen, traffic is picking up, and diners are heading to restaurants, particularly those with outdoor
eating areas.
One patio not seating patrons is Mexican restaurant El Ponce in Atlanta’s Poncey-Highland neighborhood. Owners Jarina Naone and Rosa Thurnher don’t think it’s safe, especially for their employees.
“Rosa and I feel a huge sense of responsibility toward our employees,” Naone said. “Our philosophy: If we wouldn’t put ourselves in that position, we would not put others in that position.”
Instead, they are sticking to takeout, which they’ve done since the start of the pandemic.
They set up online ordering, offering regular lunch and dinner menu items, as well as a special section called Quarantine Provisions that features oven-ready single-portion and family-size meals.
The takeout model has been successful enough, but now that numerous restaurants have reopened for on-premises dining, Naone and Thurnher said they’ve noticed a drop in carryout orders.
Problems at El Ponce are only half their predicament. Naone and Thurnher also own El Bar, the bar and dance club in the building’s rear lower level that has been shut since mid-March. There are no immediate plans to reopen the space.
Thurnher called it a “dance dive club.”
“The things that made it fun — sweating — are not happening,” she said. “I don’t see how people can come in and have a good time and let loose.
“The future of El Bar as it was is currently a ques- tion mark,” she continued.
The day I picked up my to-go order from El Ponce, Thurnher and Naone pointed to the new wood fence they were building. It was the first step toward a makeshift back patio with a tight menu of Mexican fare and a cocktail program that culls from Naone’s years of bar experience.
It’s another move being made out of necessity, Thurnher said, but “it’s an oppor- tunity to do something we’ve always want to do.”
They hope to debut the space in July.
The women find it ironic that they’re now working to save El Bar, because, when they took over El Ponce in 2016, it was the El Bar revenue that kept El Ponce alive.
“Without the restaurant we wouldn’t be surviving this right now,” Thurnher said. “And, without the bar, we wouldn’t have been able to take over the restaurant.”
“Everyone has a different situation in this town,” Naone said of the pandemic’s impact on bar and club owners.
But, she said, “I’m sure everyone could use a good dance session right now.”