General Duffy’s Waterhole will host its second annual Saturday Farmer’s Market on Saturday, May 2 from 11am-4pm, with a senior hour (60 and over) from 10-11am outside of the Taphouse in Redmond.
Under the Governor’s Order amidst COVID-19, farmer’s markets are allowed, and General Duffy’s owners are taking extra precautions for the health and well-being of staff, vendors and community members who attend the market. General Duffy’s Waterhole is not opening completely, as those operations have not been approved to open under the Governor’s guidelines yet. The rest of the operations will remain consistent with the Governor’s Orders.
“We strive to provide for the health and well-being of our community by offering access to market essentials of the highest quality, produced by the best methods and handled in the safest manner. During the current COVID-19 pandemic, patrons can have confidence that of the many public spaces they will visit, our Market will be attentive to the best sanitary practices and is currently adopting additional steps to ensure food safety during this evolving situation. We have taken the following protocols to minimize risk to our staff, vendors and patrons in the community,” said Susan Robertson, General Duffy’s owner.
Market Operations, Vendor Expectations:
- Social distancing practices will be followed, with more distance between vendor booths and one-way routes
- No samples
- Hot food will be take-out only
- There will be no vendors with ‘interactive’ activities (no face painting, etc.)
- Vendors should collect and bag all items for customers
- Separation between vendors handling money and food (one person to handle money, one to handle food… or wash/sanitize hands between both)
- No one will be allowed to enter if they are visibly sick or have been in the last two weeks (vendors)
- Protective equipment will be used
Community Patron Expectations:
- Customers must maintain safe distances from each other, preferably 6 feet apart.
- Stay home if you are sick yourself, have possibly been exposed to COVID-19 and/or are high risk.
- Continue following safety and health guidelines such as:
- Thoroughly wash your hands often for at least 20 seconds, and if not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth
- Sneeze or cough into a tissue or into the crease of your elbow
- Wash all produce thoroughly when you get home
- Wash your reusable produce bags between market visits
- Take-out of food onsite only (no eating or drinking on the premises)
- If you have to wait for food at a food truck, we ask that you maintain family/unit integrity and only sit or stand with your family unit
- Respect one another and the safety guidelines in place
(Many of these guidelines have been gleaned from the Oregon Farmers Market Association guidance, to follow the best practices to maintain health safety among all who attend: visitunioncounty.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/OFMA-COVID-19-Resources.pdf )
General Duffy’s continues to operate as a business, but has adopted extra safety protocols since the Governor’s Order was put in place. General Duffy’s Waterhole current operations are as follows amidst COVID-19:
- Food trucks are for take-out only
- The tap house is only open for growler fills or purchase of merchandise, gift cards or beverage cans (no beer will be poured from taps into pint glasses)
- Drinking or eating on the premises is NOT allowed
- All seating closed (except picnic benches outside where people can wait for take-out food near food trucks)
- Limited staff to only “essential” employees
- Additional measures to stay sanitary, safe and healthy, such as consistent hand washing and no contact with other personnel
“We look forward to when we can host the community again, as a whole community within our Taphouse, however, until that is allowed, we will continue to follow protocols to minimize risk to any staff member, vendor or member of the community. Our family has lived in Redmond for over 30 years, we love this community and the support they have shown, and want to continue serving in the future,” said Dick Robertson, General Duffy’s owner. “We look forward to seeing those who would like to join us Saturday, and we thank our partners, vendors and shoppers for helping us address the current health situation — making it possible for us to safely sustain essential food and market access during this time.”
This the first Saturday Market of the year, but General Duffy’s will be hosting Saturday Markets all summer long. If there are long lines or too many people, General Duffy’s staff urges the community to come back for future Saturday Markets all summer long.
General Duffy’s Waterhole is a veteran and family-owned business that opened in Redmond in March 2019 and is expanding to Klamath Falls to open a Taphouse later in 2020.
