City Winery To Require $50 Coronavirus Tests To Get Inside

LOWER MANHATTAN, NY — How about a coronavirus test with a glass of wine?

City Winery — a high-end music venue, winery and restaurant in Lower Manhattan's Meatpacking District — announced Thursday that it will soon require all customers to take a $50 rapid coronavirus test two days a week upon arriving at the restaurant.

The cost of the test will be included in the prepayment for the reservation via the website Resy.

Patrons will undergo a mandatory "wellness check" outside the massive Pier 57 wine bar space within the Hudson River Greenway.

The guests will then receive a shallow nasal swab coronavirus test by a certified practitioner, along with a glass of City Winery Bubbles, and they will be made to sit outside the restaurant for 10 to 15 minutes to wait for their results.

If the test comes back negative, the patron can enter the restaurant. If it is positive, City Winery will offer a PCR test sent to a partnered lab and 24 hours to validate the results, and the patron will not be allowed inside.

The cost of the $50 fee will go directly to the testing provider, according to a news release from City Winery.

"We believe that hospitality is all about making our customers comfortable, and given the pandemic, that is all about feeling safe," said Michael Dorf, founder and CEO of City Winery, said in a news release. "Given the chance of the seasons, finding the next level of safety and comfort level for people to dine indoors is critical for us today."

City Winery will use antigen tests provided by Accurex Diagnostic Services that it says provide better than 99 percent accuracy for negative results.

All City Winery employees will also have to take a coronavirus test before entering.

Additionally, mask-wearing, social distancing and temperature checks will all be enforced inside the restaurant, the company says.

The rapid testing for staff and patrons will begin Tuesday, and the company says it will be the first eatery to create a 100 percent coronavirus-tested space in the United States.

Reservations were first made available Wednesday, and they offer testing windows every 15 minutes starting at 4:30 p.m. The slots will be limited to 10 people per window to avoid any crowding.

The tests will only be available on Tuesday and Wednesday.