Fall Fest Reimagined at EBC
Fall Fest Reimagined at EBC
With COVID-19 shutting down this year’s Fall Festival, the Ellicottville staple thought on its feet to provide patrons with safe alternative.
In mid-March when the world shut down, it’s safe to assume many thought that by now society would be back to some level of normalcy. And while to an extent, that’s the case — restaurants reopened, visitation up and all steam ahead towards winter — there was no way Ellicottville’s Fall Festival could happen.
If you’ve visited the village on Columbus Day Weekend, you know. The annual festival brings visitors in from all over the region, and it’s the unofficial kickoff to winter. But as we continue to preach social distancing, it would be physically impossible to keep the massive number of people away from each other. The decision was difficult — it’s an unbelievable economic boost — but it was the correct decision.
A few weeks ago, Ellicottville Brewing Company teased “Fall Festival Reimagined” on its social media channels. Owner Peter Kreinheder and his team felt it was necessary to remind people that even though there’s no Fall Festival this year, Ellicottville is still as fun as ever.
“We decided to do a Bavarian Autumn dinner, relevant for Fall Festival,” he said. “We wanted to remind people that Ellicottville is still around. We’ll have a big circus tent that we used for the Michael Israel event a few years ago, except it will have 1/3 the number of people under it.”
Selling by the table, Fall Fest Reimagined invites visitors to hang out under the big top with friends or family. A traditional Bavarian dinner will showcase pretzels and cheese, Oktoberfest beer, sausages, schnitzel and more. When Kreinheder went to a beer conference in Nuremberg, he discovered Nuremberg sausages — and after finding a sausage maker in Pittsburgh, he got them on the menu.
“It’s fun, different and you get to do it with people you’ve spent time with,” he said. “This is how we’re going to do social distancing. A little bit of German music to go with dinner as well. We’re trying to encourage folks to come a little early, cruise around the village, come for dinner and stay the night.”
EBC will offer four dinner sessions. Saturday, October 3rd (the weekend before Fall Festival), two on the traditional Fall Festival Saturday and one on Sunday. Each session will have 20 tables, spread out under the big top. Each table will be served by EBC waitstaff, who will bring dinner and beers — operating the same way they’re operating the restaurant.
“It might not be as intimate as a traditional Bavarian dinner, but it’s interesting and different. We wanted to do something for Fall Festival that wasn’t too complicated. You’ll buy your table, get waited on and have a blast. I think the most important thing to remember is that it’s not a giant party, but more of an autumn dinner to celebrate the Bavarian theme our town is so built on.”
EBC ordered black and white checkered tablecloths and encourages people to dress up to fit the theme. There are four sessions offered at $45 a head, each one lasting around 3 hours which includes your meal, entertainment and first drink. For more information, head to www.ellicottvillebrewing.com.
