by Dwight Easter

The Taphouse has been a constant for great live music and neighborhood gathering place. Known far and wide for hosting some of the most iconic live performances, it was temporarily shuttered with Covid 19 concerns. Already facing the restrictions of limited capacity, and early closures, the Taphouse has returned to welcome back all the personalities that give this Norfolk institution its character and charm. I catch up with owners, Adelaide & Parker, to share their journey of 2020.

What is it about this venue that coaxes the best out of the bands?

Honestly, just making sure the bands are taken care of and the crowd is happy. We have a lot of parameters we must function within, but we are really just there to facilitate a good time for everyone. Making the bands feel welcome and appreciated can turn a bad day of a tour into a high point. If the crowd is having a good time, the band feels it and then they're having a better time and it feeds the cycle of everyone having a great night.

Your caution displayed and exercised during the pandemic has been a model for many in the community. What are the sacrifices you’ve made to keep our community safe?

If you can imagine a sacrifice to keep Taphouse running, we've probably done it already. As far as the pandemic goes, the federal government really fucked this whole thing up from square one and left its citizens to rot. They knew in January, and they sold stocks. Two months into the initial shutdowns we were working 12 hr shifts every day just the two of us, we realized this was going to last a while and we couldn't keep up that pace so the next best thing for us and Tap was to just close up for a bit and fix some of the stuff that was inevitably going to make us close a day here and there in the future anyway. Staff was taken care of, so we were able to sleep at night, and for a decent while, we did! It seemed like everybody else in the area was too terrified and/or broke to eat out anyway. That lost business was planned, but this last closure was unexpected and really fucked us up. Sometimes doing the right thing sucks – in fact, more often than not – but we believe you should do it anyway; So we went through the whole damn CDC exposure schedule and closed for what ended up being half a month when it was all said and done....but the bill collectors don't give a shit. It hurt but you don't get into this business to make all the money anyways. You've gotta love it or it'll never work. And everything we've done has, hopefully, been worth it.

What’s been your favorite night at the Taphouse and why?

Probably the night of the first Oktoberfest we did back in 2018. We had a killer lineup of a dozen bands from Germany, France, the UK, and Canada, as well as US touring and local bands. That whole thing came about super organically, with several bands heading down to The FEST in Gainesville, they all hit up Thomas McDonald asking about where they could play at around the same time and we just said, fuck it let's make a day of it and do the damn thing! We got to hang out with a bunch of great friends all day and met some amazing people that make up what are now some of our favorite bands. We weren't able to go to FEST that year due to all of the stuff we had on our plate at that time, but we got to see some of the bands we would've seen down there anyway. It was rad.

You’ve been on the frontline in navigating the pandemic in both the restaurant and entertainment industry, who is the voice currently speaking for the independent operators? What does support look like?

The Save Our Stages organization is trying, but the government is really twiddling its thumbs on all of this. The Main Street Relief fund is a great option, but you're not eligible if you received any assistance from the CARES act. That’s actually pretty common...but the CARES Act was only a drop in the bucket and support is tough to come by as it is. It's pretty wild when Guy Fieri is setting the bar for providing economic stimulus to an industry! Unfortunately, I'm not sure the music industry has any big superheroes...or really anyone making a notable difference in the life of regular musicians or venues. Real talk though - we've got so many GREAT customers who have been surprising us left and right with their unsolicited help and support...we would've locked the doors a long time ago if it hadn't been for them, but honestly, that love is why we wanted to save Tap in the first place; it's not really about us or the bar, this place just draws the best people and you can't beat that! Over 100,000 restaurants have closed this year and we still won't be able to be fully open until likely the latter half of 2021. If you don't want the only options in town to be Chili's or Ruby Tuesday, support your local spots (not that there's anything wrong with Chili's, Parker fucking loves their beef queso dip). Buy gift cards, buy merch, tip fat, and wear your damn mask. It's for people like Parker's grandmother, who dealt with severe respiratory issues as long as Parker can remember, and a number of our friends who either have or had cancer, leaving them vulnerable. We seriously hate having to be cops all the goddamn time about the mask/PPE situation, but it's part of the job these days.

You two own / operate the Taphouse together. How does your relationship help serve the good of the business?

We have each other's back. When that is number one, your staff does the same and it forces you to have integrity in what you do and to work hard because you don't want the let the other one down. Sometimes that means calling each other on your shit (but with love). We can't throw our hands up in the air and say "Fuck you, you suck, and I fucking hate this shit! Do this your damn self!" I mean, we could, but that doesn't get anyone anywhere. We have different strengths and different weaknesses, so we try to use that to our advantage and we think that's worked so far.

About Dwight Easter: Digital folk artist, family man and bread merchant. Some of the best moments in my life are experiencing the power and influence of great art. I came up in the Norfolk era of the M80’s, Buttsteak, and Antic Hay.