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Announcement
Time to start getting ready for the summer season. As of April 15th we have rooms for rent and the Pub will begin opening Friday and Saturday nights for Beer/Wine/Cocktails. As we move into May we will slowly begin to add additional days and hours along with a food menu. Stay tuned for updates as we approach May.
We are currently hiring for both front and back of the house as well as upstairs in housekeeping. If you are looking for seasonal work, please send us an email at info@cohillsinn.com
Well, even though it is still snowing in Maine, we are already moving forward with reopening for the 2023 season. Currently rooms will be available as of May 1st and, as an incentive to come visit early, discounted pretty heavily to kick off the season.
We plan on opening the pub the first week of May for the weekends and then by Memorial Day weekend we will be going 6 days a week, LUNCH and Dinner!! Yes, that is right, we are bringing back lunch. The past few years have been a struggle for those looking to eat during the day and we are hopeful that our lunch offerings will help east that pain. Currently our loose plans are 11:30 to 2:00 for lunch and then reopening in the evening around 4:30 for Dinner. Exact times will be posted as soon as we finalize things.
If you are looking for some summer work, we still have openings in the pub and in housekeeping so drop us an email to inquire.
As always we look forward to seeing everyone this summer!!
Cheers,
Glenn, Ellen & the Dogs
In celebration of the 2022 Holidays we are going to keep a promotion going on Gift Cards through the end of this year. Receive 20% off of any gift card amount over $100. Just use the code: HOLIDAY31 when checking out. You can buy your online gift cards by following this LINK
If you have any questions or problems checking out, please be sure and just let us know. Gift cards don’t expire and can be used towards any purchase at the Inn or Pub.
Cheers,
Glenn & Ellen
This year we will be accepting payments via the Lightning network for those that wish to do so. In order to help incentivise customers to pay this way, each time you pay us over the lighting network, you will get one entry into a drawing for a $250 gift card. Each and every time you pay this way, you will be entered into the drawing.
For those of you that know what this is, you will be able to use any lightning compatible wallet to complete your transaction. This will be available for both lodging and for inside the pub. All you will have to do is tell us at checkout that this is how you want to pay.
Currently we are charged approximately 3% for every credit card transaction. One the last 5 years, our transactions are almost 90% credit card. This 3% represents a sizable amount of revenue that we loose each year just providing you a service. Paying over lightning is virtually free to both the customer and the business. Right now, the easiest way to get started is to download a wallet from Strike, fund it with some cash and then you are all set to make payments this way.
If you have any questions, please just let us know.
We are excited to announce that for the 2022 season we will be accepting Bitcoin as a form of payment. Not only do we believe this will be a positive step for you, the customer, but it is a dramatically beneficial financial element to every small business that chooses to go down this path.
Present, it costs us on average close to 3% for every transaction that is made with a credit card. I say 3% because sometimes it is a bit higher, say on room bookings and sometimes a touch lower if done at our Square POS in the pub. In either event, it is a large number for a small business and a number that must eventually be passed on to you, the customer, as one of our basic ‘Cost of Business’ elements.
So, how will this work? Well, the simplest mechanism will be those of you that choose to pay us in the pub using your Square CashApp. Square has continued pushing out updates to both our POS (point of sale equipment) and to the consumer CashApp. If you don’t already have the app, I encourage you to download it and attempt to use it. Let us know how that goes. Remember, we are all on the cusp of a new financial world and there are going to be growing pains along the way.
Second, if you have your own BTC wallet, and wish to pay in a peer to peer manner, at the time of invoice, either in the pub, or for rooms, we will generate a BTC invoice that you can simply scan with your phone our BTC wallet address and remit payment. Again, compared to simply handing us a CC, these things will be a touch more tedious in 2022, but probably seamless by 2024. Change is always slower than we expect, but as the song says, change is a coming.
We have 4-5 months to work out these details so that we are ready for the season. However, for those of you that will begin booking rooms for the summer, please let us know in your booking request if you would like to pay via BTC. At present time, the system we use for processing room reservations will continue to take a one night deposit in USD at the time of booking. We hope to identify a way to avoid this for you, but in either event, you may choose to pay the balance of your booking with BTC, just let us know at the time of booking and we will create the appropriate invoice.
As this is a new and emerging financial market, we would love to hear your thoughts, especially if you are on the side of paying for goods and service in this manner.
More details will follow, so check back soon. We will be starting up the newsletter again next month and will be introducing this topic along with more details of what the 2022 season will look like. We are currently expecting the discount rate for paying in Bitcoin to be approximately 5%, but are still finalizing those details. We also envision this discount to apply to purchases in the Pub as well.
Wishing you all a happy Thanksgiving with your family and friends.
Glenn & Ellen
Due to the current uptick in the Covid 19 Delta variant, Cohills will not be open for the invasion. We do not feel that it is responsible for us to open to that many people in a closed space. This will be the first time that we have done this, and apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
Due to the continuing issue of finding staff, we are once again being forced to modify how we operate and what food we are capable of providing. For this weekend,(August 20th), we will be moving to a very limited menu that focuses heavily on BEER/WINE/COCKTAILS and then some light fair to go along with your beverages. Please know, this is not what we would like to be doing, but in an effort to continue being open, we must evolve with this dramatic labor shortage. Please be kind, and enjoy what we have to offer. A comfortable space, good views, nice music, and light fare.
We expect to modify this over the next week and perhaps go to a reservation based system, which will limit the number of guests in the pub, but allow us to serve the food that we would like to serve. Please stay tuned here and on the newsletter for details as they evolve.
COVID-19 UPDATE:
The delta variant is obviously running rampant and on many of our minds. After last year, we HAVE to remain open, but we will not do so in a way that jeopardizes our health. Both Ellen and I received our shots so that we could open and offer a service to the community. We are now going to flip that around and ask that you only enter the pub if you have been vaccinated and show no signs of illness. We can not afford to have an outbreak in the pub, which would effectively shut us down for a significant portion of the remaining fall season.
If you are a guest in the Inn, we expect you to abide by the same rules. If this requires a cancelation of your reservation, we will refund you all monies and charge you no penalty for the cancelation.
As such, we are asking that you please only enter if you have been vaccinated AND are showing no signs of illness. Please do not make this an issue. There are other places to eat and you won’t go hungry. If you have not been vaccinated, please respect our wishes, don’t harass us or the staff, and simply move on.
We appreciate your patience and understanding as we continue to navigate these issues.
Regards,
Glenn & Ellen
We are excited to be officially kicking off the Summer 2021 season this weekend. Lots of changes at the Inn & Pub so we are going to ‘EASE’ our way back into the summer. It is hard to believe that it has been since 2019 that we were open to full capacity!
For the holiday weekend, the following will be our operating hours.
Friday: 4 to 9 - Serving drinks and small plates
Saturday and Sunday: Small plates and drinks from 4 to 9
Monday: 4 to 9 - Serving drinks and small plates
Also, as a reminder, we are truly changing things up this year and as such, there is a learning curve for both our staff and for us. We ask for your patience and understanding as we navigate the new waters. Our small plate menu for the weekend will be posted shortly so that you can see a bit more of what we are doing.
One other change that you will notice instantly is that we will no longer have wait staff. While our goal is to open up table side ordering via your phone, in the beginning our system is not ready, so all drink and food orders will be placed at the bar. Your food and drinks will be delivered to your table by our staff as items are prepared.
The other big change is that we will only be taking reservations for our private dinner nights. Private dinner nights will be open to up to 12 people and will be centered around a fixed price menu which will include a multi course meal, cocktails and wine pairing. These will be similar to the events that we ran last year. We intend to start these dinners by July and they will run throughout the season. Our goal is to do them 2 nights a week. Details will appear here in the news section and in the newsletter.
COVID-19 UPDATE
Per the Governor and CDC, beginning the 24th, if you are fully vaccinated you may enter and move about our facility without a Mask. Those that are not vaccinated are required to wear a Mask when not at a table. Please, please, please, everyone respect our wishes to continue following the guidelines. We do not want to be mask police. We ask that if you have not been vaccinated, that you continue to follow all the guidelines for masking and social distancing. More than half of our staff has been vaccinated, but those that have not, will continue to wear masks at all times inside our facility.
Our full June schedule is still in the works and should be posted shortly. Thanks again to everyone that has supported us over the years. We are truly excited to see everyones again.
Thanks,
Ellen & Glenn
Spinning Vinyl this summer will be a huge component of our music offerings
As we approach April 1st, we have our first real glimpse of spring. Beautiful blue skies and some relatively warm temperatures are a welcome relief to the crazy weather of the last several days. So, in honor of this and the fact that it is easter weekend, we will be having another popup event this Saturday, April 3rd from 4-7. To order food, the menu will be online and updated by tomorrow afternoon. Just like the previous popup, we will have the fire pit going and the taps flowing. This week in addition to Guinness we will be offering up one of our favorite Maine IPAs, The Thirsty Botanist. In addition, we will have wine and a spring inspired craft cocktail available at the 'To Go' window. We look forward to seeing everyone this weekend.
The picture at the top of this note is something that we have been planning to add for quite some time. In addition to our remodel, and our new food offerings, one of our overriding goals was/is to make the pub more of a relaxed environment. A place where people can come and enjoy the view, drink good beer/wine/cocktails listen to music and savor the kitchen creations.. The pace of life will be much slower and much less rushed and way more of a place to gather and enjoy one another. We are excited to share more details over the coming weeks.
We hope everyone continues to be safe; wear your mask when appropriate, and please, please get vaccinated. Doing what you can will help to insure that our little community can also stay safe and transition back to what we all consider to be a more normal life.
Both Ellen and I greatly appreciate your support and we look forward to seeing everyone this summer!!
In the meantime, we are going to sit back, Ellen with an IPA and Glenn with a glass of Red and flip some vinyl to make sure all is good. Tonight, Joni Mitchell will reign supreme as we make sure everything is in working order.
As of March 1, things are beginning to look up for a summer season that is closer to normal than not. With that said, while we have opened up the room reservation system, we are still sorting out what our dining options will be for the summer.
Many of you that visited last summer witnessed from outside the windows that we had completely remodeled the pub as the first step in moving towards a new dining model. This work was done right as COVID was ramping up and as you know, forced us to scrap any inside dining options for the summer of 2020.
Moving into 2021, we will be orienting ourselves towards a completely new indoor experience. One that focuses on guests taking advantage of our space and our views to relax, drink, eat small bites and enjoy music. What exactly this looks like is still in the works, but we hope to announce the final details in the next week or two.
What we can say is the menu will be different (with some obvious holdovers) and the number of seats has been dramatically reduced, even before COVID. We will no longer take reservations for dining, other than for special event nights, and service within the pub will be bar oriented — order at the bar and your food will be delivered to a table.
What does that mean, well, the menu will be smaller and simpler, but with just as much emphasis on high quality fresh and local food as before. Cocktails will continue to be unique and push the envelope on what can be found in the down east region. Our whiskey selection will grow and our wine selection will evolve to the next level.
The music will be good, at all times, and the coffee is likely to flow from the espresso machine all day long :-). We have a couple of very unique things that will be taking place, including more tastings and private dinners with limited seating along with the possibility of finally implementing a wine and beer club. Glenn rebuilt the entire tap system last year, so we can now serve up to 12 drafts at any given time! We added more furniture to the deck along with a firepit with more deck furniture on the way.
This summer is still likely to be a challenging one for everybody as we all begin moving out of a COVID centric world. However, the evolution is not going to come right away and as such, we will evolve the business model with both current conditions and guidance from the Governor. We anticipate opening up our Carryout service early this spring and as mentioned, the rooms are now open for bookings.
Both Ellen and I greatly appreciate your support and we look forward to seeing everyone this summer!!
Cheers,
Ellen & Glenn
We have officially opened up the reservation system for the summer season (2021). Rooms are available starting in May through the beginning of October. We are still formulating our pub plans largely based on advice from the Maine CDC and mass access to vaccinations. Please stay tuned for details by signing up to the newsletter. We do anticipate opening our Carryout earlier than May 1, but do not have an official start date as of today. We anticipate announcing the carry out schedule in the next couple of weeks.
Thanks to all for your support and patience as we try and navigate these difficult times. We will continue to practice COVID-19 best practices both in the rooms and our pub in order to maximize keeping us, staff, and our guests safe.
Should you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to drop us a note.
Craft Cocktail to start the evening before getting into the wine pairing
We have posted the schedule for the upcoming series of Wine Dinners in the Events section. These events are filling up quickly so act fast. Due to the addition of the event on Saturday, June 27th, we will not be open for carryout that day.
