5p June 12 reopening according to the order - a good start

We’ve all been craving a return to our old lives, including the clubs. The Mill reopened and is an early transitional step into what things will look like. First, kudos to Scott and management for being willing to take this first step. I took a seat at the bar near the hallway to the bathroom and this is what I saw. They took some definitive steps in compliance with Hogan’s order regarding the terms of reopening - 50% capacity and staff must wear masks. In addition, some notable changes — no draft beers, no Friday buffet or oysters and no straws. The communal jars of individually wrapped mints are gone. The acrobatic silks have been removed. Bathroom was clean, but no hand towels so you had to use the coronavirus jet spreader air dryer to dry your hands. Tipping at the rail was supposed to be at 6’ distance and mostly complied. Certainly no legs were wrapped around stage tipping customers. There were probably about 15 customers while I was there, including two M/F couples.

Dancers wore masks, but had to take them off on stage in order to breathe. Some girls complained about being out of shape and having to catch their breath on stage, especially because the DJ was playing full length songs, likely because there was a several minute delay between stage dances as extensive stage spraying and cleaning was in effect. Also, all girls wore pasties as far as I could tell. Just a guess, but the club was trying to make sure if LEO came to check, that they followed all the rules. Probably the first time in a long time that you might describe $30 dances at the Mill as a “value” since you were likely to get full length songs.

Big John took everyone’s temperature as they entered in a 6’ spaced line, which slowed things down. “Reserved” tags were on every other table to keep people separate but groups of adults could “consent” to take the risk and sit together. My barstool was initially separate from nearby seats, but the dancers who joined me got close once I said it was ok.