Matt and Tony’s is fired up about reopening

A beloved Brewery District eatery will reopen Tuesday, Sept. 1 after a long hiatus.

Matt and Tony’s Wood Fired Kitchen will offer dinner seven days a week with an updated menu and COVID-19 precautions. In addition to strict social distancing, masks, and temperature checks, Matt and Tony’s has incorporated contact tracing into their check-in process.

“[The Health Department] said we’re one of the few restaurants that do that,” said Matt Rootes, co-owner of Matt and Tony’s. “So, we just try to go above and beyond what everybody else is doing just to make sure that we’re keeping our guests safe and our staff.”

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Once guests are safely seated, they can peruse a plethora of new dinner options with a focus on comfort food. Joining the classic ribs, steaks, and fan-favorite cheese steak egg rolls will be new varieties of wings, sandwiches, and wood-fired burgers. Rootes said he recognizes that most patrons are still working from home, so he has had to meld much of the old lunch menu into their new dinner-only model.

“As fall comes, people are going to be inside more and looking for a place to go just to come and chill, and eat some more comfort food than, you know, fancy fancy dinner,” Rootes said. “So we’re really excited about that.”

The reopening was a carefully calculated endeavor. Rootes also co-owns Pat and Gracie’s–a more established downtown restaurant–and said he kept close track of the sales and safety practices there to determine the best timing for Matt and Tony’s to reopen. He is confident that they can now offer safe, fast service at a time when dine-in options are limited.

Matt and Tony’s Wood Fired Kitchen is located at 525 Short St. Hours are 3-10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 3-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 3-9 p.m. Sunday. Rootes said he plans to bring back Sunday brunch in the coming weeks.

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