Popular Columbia restaurant closed over a month for coronavirus reopens for takeout
A popular South Carolina barbecue restaurant that closed and laid off 400 employees due to the coronavirus crisis has partially reopened four of its five locations, including its restaurant in Columbia’s Five Points.
Home Team BBQ reopened for takeout only in Five Points this week, featuring a retooled menu that includes rib and pulled pork platters, take-and-bake nachos, taco kits, drink mixes for its signature Gamechanger cocktail and more.
“We have put elevated (sanitation) and protective measures in place, including the use of gloves, masks, sanitizing, and temperature screening in line with CDC guidelines so that our teams can safely serve you,” the restaurant said in a Facebook post over the weekend.
Home Team also resumed takeout and delivery at its restaurants in downtown Charleston, Sullivan’s Island and Aspen, Colorado.
While Home Team’s reopening coincides with the timing of S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster’s blessing for restaurants to resume outdoor dining, Home Team has said in social media posts that it is not yet opening up its patios at any of its restaurants.
Home Team was one of the first local restaurants to announce it was closing and laying off employees rather than attempting to stay open for takeout service, after McMaster issued an order in mid-March banning all on-premises restaurant dining across the state to help slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Some other restaurants chose to remain open doing takeout business only. But some of those businesses, like Home Team’s iconic Five Points neighbor, Yesterdays, folded under the financial stress of such limited business.
During its closure, Home Team raised more than $77,000 in donations for its employees, the restaurant said in an Instagram post.
Home Team is one of Five Points’ newest businesses. Its opening almost exactly one year ago in the former Harper’s restaurant, a longtime Columbia staple, was highly anticipated and eagerly welcomed by the community.
The Five Points restaurant is now open daily for takeout from 3-8 p.m. Orders can be placed online at hometeambbq.com.
