COVID-19 hasn’t stopped Wing Night at regional sports bar chain

On a Tuesday night any of the P.J. Whelihan’s locations in the region would normally be filled with the sounds of sports and hungry customers taking advantage of the regional chain’s popular Wing Night specials.

But now, with the dining areas shut down by the state, it’s quiet in the sports bars. However, business is still pretty busy for wing night, said Tara Delvecchio, manager of the Bethlehem P.J. Whelihan’s, but it’s the parking lots that are full.

Like many bars and restaurants in the state, P.J.’s locations still have take-out available.

To help with social distancing and streamline operations, the restaurants are taking orders on a newly developed ordering system on their websites. Customers can choose from a menu that is smaller than the normal menu, but still has Wing Night on Tuesdays.

The customer is given a time to pick up the order and a staffer brings it to the car. They’ll even put it in the trunk if the customer wants no-contact delivery. While the restaurants are getting a decent stream of customers, the parking lot is full on Wing Night.

“They’re just so happy that we’re open and we’re doing this,” said Delvecchio. “We’ve even had people bring us candy and face masks.”

She said it makes her feel good to add at least a small sense of normalcy to people in such a shut-down world. Not that everything is rosy. Like all restaurants in Pennsylvania, without in-house dining businesses is way down.

In her restaurant only seven people are working, all managers.  Normally there are more than 30 people at the Bethlehem location on an average night. The restaurant has a full staff of 100 full and part timers. The rest, unfortunately are laid off, for now.

But those remaining at work are doing their best to stay safe and keep the food flowing.

“Obviously it was a big adjustment, instead of a full dining room we have a full parking lot,” she said. “The challenge is not knowing how long it will last.”

But for now they have their Wing Night and their regulars and they’ll be offering curbside food for their fans.