EXPERIENCE
Setting The Standard
New Albany restaurant changes concept in light of COVID-19
BY LISA HORNUNG | PHOTOS BY JOSH KEOWN
There are a lot of potential disasters for which
restaurant owners can anticipate and prepare. A
global pandemic was never one of them.
Beau Kerley and Tim Smith have not come
through this worldwide storm without a few
scratches. That’s why they are changing the business
concept for their restaurant, The Standard Plate &
Pour, 207 E. Main St., in New Albany.
While the veteran restaurateurs haven’t dealt
with a massive shutdown like this before, they’ve
managed to keep several restaurants running and
the others are nearly back to their regular business.
But The Standard is now switching to a facility
that will only be open for private events, including
rentals and special functions put on by the company.
“We’re going to be closed except for private
(rentals). We’re going to be doing wedding
rehearsals and business meetings and just every
private event we can do,” Kerley said. “We’re also
going to be putting on our own private events like
bourbon dinners or wine dinners. Against the Grain
breweries are going to be doing a takeover of our
patio, and we’re gonna have a band out there one
night in August.”
While most businesses have struggled through
the pandemic, the restaurant industry has been
hit especially hard, with an estimated $145
billion shortfall during the first four months of
the COVID-19 shutdown in the United States,
according to the National Restaurant Association.
June showed the highest monthly sales volume since
March but still remained about $18 billion down
from the pre-coronavirus sales levels in January
and February, the association said in mid-July.
The Standard felt it, too. “There was a little period
of time we saw a little bit of an uptick (in business)
there,” Kerley said. “We opened, and at first it
was really slow. Then, we saw a little uptick and
thought, ‘OK, well then, we’re gonna go here and
do something,’ but it just never really continued.
The margins in restaurants are so small, it just
doesn’t make sense.”
The pair have worked together for about 11 years,
starting at Bluegrass Brewing Company (Kerley is
still a partner at BBC) and then went to Crescent Hill
Craft House in Louisville, but decided they wanted
to strike out on their own. So, a few years ago they
started 812 Pizza Company in Georgetown. The
two also own Dos Gringos and the Early Edition
in Jeffersonville, and they opened The Standard
20 EXTOL : SUMMER 2020