It’s not the kind of liquid confidence the folks at the cocktail bar Tara Rose are used to focusing on, but owner Kevin Doherty has spent months researching how to keep his space as germ free as possible, including spraying all the surfaces with a special disinfectant, Zetricil, and putting a long-lasting hand sanitizer on each table and at the entrance. 


What You Need To Know

  • Tara Rose is getting ready for the return of indoor dining with contactless menus and payment, hand sanitizer at the entrance and on every table, and a socially distanced layout of its tables

  • It's asking all of its customers to be part of contact tracing, not just one person per party as is mandated

  • Tara Rose Bar brought in a team of sanitizing experts to spray the entire space down with a long-lasting sanitizer that can last up to 30 days and hand sanitizer that lasts eight hours

  • Business had been down about 75% during the pandemic, and even though they have fewer tables than before, they're relieved to start to get business back

Doherty said customers will be asked to use it to protect not just themselves, but others, too. 

“I think that's what gives me the confidence that they are going to be safe and, hopefully, gives the customers confidence that they're going to be safe," said Doherty.

Of course, it’s just one of many measures he’s taking to comply with safety regulations and go even further. 

"The biggest thing for the inside is the contact tracing. The rule is every one person in a party, but we're going to ask for every single person to come into the premises to contact trace, just so that we can be a little bit safer,” explained Doherty. “Our capacity was 225, now it's 56, seated only. So we had to remove 45 barstools and 12 tables so we can allow for the 6 foot space.” 

With the barstools gone, Doherty added high tables at the counter so people can feel like they are at a bar again, something he believes customers are really craving.

Business has been down nearly 75 percent since the pandemic, and even though outdoor seating and takeout drinks helped, on a rainy day, business is near zero. 

He also has done a lot of research on the cleaning system and brought in a team from Texas to use a long-lasting disinfectant, Zetricil.  

"When it dries, it forms a very small nanoscopic bond to the surface that actually will attract the bacteria and viruses and once it hits that surface it renders it dead," said Jacob Woodring of the company Disinfect & Go.

He said the effect can also for weeks and they check the results with a scanner.

Doherty was looking for something completely non-toxic and also alcohol-free. They’ll save the alcohol for inside the glasses.