Welcome to The Patio, Alma Mater’s new outdoor-only restaurant. Good-bye to Honey, Matriarch

Closed to the public since March, Alma Mater resurfaces this week with an outdoor-only restaurant called simply The Patio.

Matriarch Lounge and Honey Kitchen, the venue’s two house restaurants, will funnel into this new concept, confirmed interim executive director Lisa Fruichantie in an email.

The large garden space adjacent to the building — recognizable as the food hub of the Tacoma Night Market — will serve as the singular seating area, “perfect for both the summer weather and for social distancing,” Alma Mater declares on its website.

Though the all-day cafe will be family friendly, it will follow strict COVID-19 regulations, following several weeks of planning and employee discussion.

“We have a lovely patio, and we are thrilled to be able to see others enjoy it again, but we cannot afford to do so without proper precautions,” Fruichantie told The News Tribune. “Every decision we have made has been weighted and heavy as we navigate our own ethics and comfort.”

Staff will expect guests to follow the five-person per table rule, as well as standard social distancing and state-mandated mask-wearing when not seated. They also will check temperatures upon entrance using a contactless thermometer and will test a second time if a customer’s temperature reaches 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit, the level recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Employees will follow this protocol before starting work.

The setup is designed to minimize contact between seated parties and between guests and staff. You can seat yourself at a table marked as sanitized, and Alma Mater asks that you carry your used dishes to designated bus stations.

“Keeping our staff safe and distanced from the public is our topmost priority,” said Fruichantie, and not merely for their own health and that of the public. “The work we are doing right now is so much larger than us as an individual restaurant. We serve so many other community members that rely on us daily for meals.”

Since April, the kitchens of Alma Mater — now led by former Matriarch chef Roger Weatherhead — have been cooking three meals a day, seven days a week for homeless residents of the Beacon Youth Shelter down the block. With 3uilt, located inside 7 Seas Brewing in Tacoma, they also provide meals to others in need through a blossoming philanthropic arm.

Meanwhile, the concert hall has served as a home base for the Tacoma Mutual Aid Collective, an advocacy group providing supplies, educational support and other resources to community causes.

Otherwise, the 22,000-square-foot venue, which typically hosts dozens of events every month, has been hidden from the public eye for more than 18 weeks.

The reopening has brought 14 furloughed employees back to work as well as a new cafe manager. Alma Mater expects more hiring to continue the flow of food relief alongside The Patio.

It also created a forum for local artists to contribute “a pop of visual art to our courtyard,” said Fruichantie.

Gerardo Pena gathered four other Tacoma creators to paint a fresh mural, a wall of pastel pink with colorful letters depicting scenes of Tacoma and the South Sound. Each designed a letter, starting with Pena and followed by Caroleena Santisebastian, LeShawn Gamble, Adika Bell and Saiyare Refaei.

The Milk Gallery has also reopened, for free public showings of the current exhibit, Modern Womxn, in groups of up to five people, by appointment only.

HELLO PATIO, GOODBYE MATRIARCH AND HONEY

The Patio marks the return of sandwiches, salads and coffee in the style of Honey Kitchen and sophisticated plates and cocktails à la Matriarch Lounge, but those restaurants will not return post-COVID.

“Although we will miss Honey and Matriarch, we will be putting our focus into The Patio now, the future direction of Alma Mater,” said Fruichantie, who took over the leadership role after co-founder Jason Heminger stepped down this summer.

They harnessed the hiatus of the COVID-19 shutdown to simplify, rebrand and rebuild while maintaining their founding ethos.

Weatherhead and his team of former Honey and Matriarch staff, about half of whom have cooked for Beacon and other organizations throughout the pandemic, will “pay tribute” to some old favorites while introducing some crowd-tested newcomers.

From 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Wednesday to Sunday, dig into a bagel with aquavit cured salmon ($14) and veggie hash with fennel, mushrooms and greens ($11), or opt for a light lunch of burrata with an oregano vinaigrette and roasted beets with goat cheese (both $10).

New neighbor Campfire Coffee, which roasts beans over an open flame, will take over the drip coffee, and Olympia Coffee will feature in espresso drinks. These local roasters replace Portland-based Heart Coffee.

Starting at 2 p.m., the kitchen will transition to duck fat popcorn ($5) and Matriarch’s signature shoestring fries (both $5), oysters ($17 for a half-dozen) and smoked-trout dip decorated with trout roe, capers and plenty of dill ($10).

The menus overlap somewhat, with the house cheeseburger ($13) and BLT ($11) available all day, alongside local beer and cocktails like the Deer Island made with brandy and horchata.

THE PATIO AT ALMA MATER

▪ 1322 Fawcett Ave., Tacoma, 253-507-7289, almamatertacoma.com/the-patio

▪ Details: Wednesday to Sunday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., starting July 29

▪ Seating first come, first served; family-friendly; service animals only; masks required

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This story was originally published July 29, 2020 at 5:00 AM.