The Prince of Wales

The Prince of Wales The Best Fish and Chips in town! Cottage Pie, Beef & Guinness Pie, Bangers & Mash, burgers, sandwich Located in the heart of beautiful downtown St.
(848)

(We use REAL COD!) We also offer Cottage Pie, Beef & Guinness Pie, Bangers & Mash, Chicken and Mushroom Pie, burgers (including our famous Beer Battered Burger), sandwiches, salads, appetizers, desserts, draughts & wine. Augustine at the corner of Spanish and Cuna St.

I created this chart to show current Covid-19 HOSPITALIZATIONS for various states that are showing a similar growth in n...
07/06/2020

I created this chart to show current Covid-19 HOSPITALIZATIONS for various states that are showing a similar growth in new cases. Florida DOES NOT release current Covid-19 hospitalizations! (WHY?) Note that Georgia and South Carolina didn't start releasing current Covid-19 hospitalization data until the middle of May. Be very wary of recent news articles claiming that hospitalizations are "plummeting" in Florida. Please stay safe and always wear a mask when close to others in public to help keep them safe. Source of data: https://covidtracking.com/data/

06/25/2020

The City of Saint Augustine is holding an Emergency Commission Meeting tomorrow morning (Fri 6/26/20 at 9:30am) to consider a city resolution mandating the use of face coverings indoors and when social distancing is not possible.

If you are a city resident, YOU can make a difference by submitting YOUR views and opinions to the City via email, so they can be read and considered at the meeting. All submissions must be sent prior to 5:00pm today (Thu 6/25/20).

You can use the link below to easily contact the Mayor, Commissioners, City Manager and City Clerk now:
http://theprinceofwalesstaugustine.com/should-we-mandate-masks-in-st-augustine.html

Below is the email I sent to the City just now:

I firmly agree with implementing a mask mandate in all indoor public areas, since so few people are doing so voluntarily (which is sad because if the majority of people simply acted responsibly, a mandate would be unnecessary). It has been clearly shown that wearing masks significantly reduces virus transmission, and it is also clear that cases are rising exponentially in Florida, in Saint Johns County, and in Saint Augustine.

I strongly believe we need to protect our City now. Several restaurants and bars have already closed temporarily or indefinitely as a result of increasing infection. Downtown employees are at greater risk every day. The longer we wait, the larger the strain on all downtown businesses and all City residents. We need to protect ourselves, our families, our friends, our neighbors, our community and our businesses.

Some people still believe that this pandemic is insignificant. I disagree wholeheartedly with them, and I believe that the majority of residents in Saint Augustine feel the same way I do.

I strongly recommend that masks should also be required *outside* while in historic downtown, and that signage should be placed in parking areas and at intersections on St George St so that tourists are made aware.

The difficult part is figuring out exceptions for restaurants and bars. I feel that in restaurants, masks must be worn when not seated, and in bars, masks must be worn whenever possible, including entering, paying, leaving, and using the restroom.

Enforcement is the trickiest part - I feel it should be performed when town is busy (such as Fri/Sat/Sun), and leniently, whereby if the violators have masks in their possession and agree to put them on immediately, they are given a verbal warning. I believe enforcement should NOT be performed at times when town is less busy, provided that people are properly socially distancing.

I fear that things are going to get very, very ugly in July and August, when we will first see local hospitalizations rise, and later see local deaths rise - I hope I'm wrong, but I strongly believe that implementing a mask mandate NOW will undoubtedly save local lives and help keep Saint Augustine stronger and healthier.

Sincerely,
Jake Firth
Resident of the City of Saint Augustine

06/23/2020

UPDATE for all of our wonderful patrons:

The Prince will continue to remain CLOSED until further notice due to COVID-19.

In the meantime, HERE ARE 10 WAYS to support your other favorite local restaurants and bars while minimizing your risk and minimizing risk to others:

1) Try to visit at less busy times, such as Monday through Thursday, and avoid going during lunch and dinner rushes when possible. This not only reduces the number of out-of-area tourists you will encounter, it also reduces average crowd density, which makes it easier for your favorite places to maintain proper social distancing and sanitization protocols.

2) Choose places where the staff wear masks, and where tables are properly distanced from each other. These places are much more likely to have stricter sanitation protocols in place.

3) Whenever you see a hand sanitizer station, use it. It’s easy to do – many restaurants and bars have these conveniently placed at the entrance and other locations. And of course, whenever possible, wash your hands!

4) Whenever possible, try to sit outside. If you sit inside, try to choose a table as far as possible from other patrons, especially larger tables. If it is crowded, consider going somewhere else or coming back later.

5) Wear a mask while entering, leaving, using the bathroom, or any other time you are not seated. Also, try to wear a mask while your server is taking your order or serving food/beverages. I know masks are cumbersome, annoying, sweaty, itchy, etc, but your servers will appreciate anything you can do to help keep them safe as they try to keep you safe.

6) Tip your servers well! If you can, tip more than you usually would – such as 25%. More and more servers are growing increasingly concerned about the rise in local cases, but they need to work to pay their bills and support their families.

7) Check to see if your favorite places offer gift certificates. Any extra revenue for them right now will help them get through this difficult period more easily. The Prince is currently not offering gift certificates, but most places are!

8) If you are not comfortable going out to eat, you can do curbside pickup or home delivery. However, remember that a lot of third party food delivery services impose enormous fees on restaurants, so consider calling directly for curbside pickup, and then drive over to pick it up yourself (wear a mask while picking up). Going for a drive is a great way to break the monotony of being home, and your restaurant will appreciate not having to pay out large fees to third party delivery services.

9) Quite a number of people feel that masks are entirely unnecessary, and that this is just a mild flu being massively over-exaggerated by the media, perhaps for political purposes or even more diabolical objectives. You may be one of those people. I’m not going to try to convince you otherwise. Whether you are right or wrong, I believe that you care about other people. Wearing a mask whenever possible will at the very least help the people around you (including the restaurant staff) feel more comfortable - everyone wins, even if it’s all just a crazy deep state social engineering experiment.

10) Most importantly, if you or anyone in your household feel even mildly sick, please stick to home delivery or curbside pickup (and wear a mask while picking up). Maybe it’s just allergies or a mild cold, but it’s not worth risking the health of the staff of your favorite restaurants (as well as the health of everyone else nearby), along with their families, etc.

One month ago, I posted a letter about this epidemic, and I believe it applies even more now than before. You may have already read it, but here is a link in case: https://www.facebook.com/BestFishAndChips/posts/3153660391355348

The Prince will reopen once we believe it is safe for our patrons and employees. We look forward to seeing you all again!

Let’s Keep St. Augustine Strong and Healthy!

Support Your Local Small Businesses!

Sincerely,
Jake Firth
Owner
The Prince Of Wales Restaurant

05/20/2020

To all of our wonderful patrons:

The Prince will NOT be opening during May due to COVID-19, and possibly not during June. We do not yet have a projected open date.

Whether justified or not, a lot of people still fear that there will be a second, larger wave caused by everyone suddenly going back out. I am one of those people. While I do not believe that all businesses should stay closed, and I welcome the gradual easing of restrictions, I also do not believe that things are suddenly safe.

The number of out-of-state license plates in town is increasing daily, as people from hotspots that are still locked down are increasingly travelling to places that are opening up – including here. Virtually nobody is wearing masks. Social distancing is gradually fading. An increasing number of people have decided that the danger has mostly passed – or that there was no real danger to begin with. And I really hope they’re right, and that I’m just being overcautious and pessimistic. I hope I’m being a paranoid fool.

The viral impact of social interaction on any particular day does not become apparent until several weeks later. The numbers we see today, which appear to be gradually declining, only depict the rate of spread several weeks ago, when most of the country had been locked down for a couple of weeks. The numbers we start seeing in June and July will depict the rate of spread occurring during May.

That said, we cannot keep everything locked down. The economic and psychological impact is staggering. But I believe that opening everything up TOO fast will make matters worse. There needs to be a delicate balance.

I do have a few requests.

Even if you feel that masks are completely unnecessary, and choose NOT to wear a mask while downtown or at the beach, please DO wear a mask at supermarkets, pharmacies, convenience stores, medical facilities and other places that seniors and higher risk people need to go. Please DO NOT deride and mock people who feel that wearing a mask is necessary, or those who still want to stay away from the public. Please respect those who don’t want to let their guard down.

On the other hand, even if you feel that everyone should be wearing masks, and that those who are not wearing masks are putting everyone in grave danger, please just keep your distance and DO NOT degrade them. Our country is based on freedom, and right now, one of those freedoms (at least in Florida) is choosing whether or not to wear a mask, and another freedom is choosing to avoid those who don’t.

Since there is little chance of a vaccine being developed within the next two years, and there are still no effective ways of treating this virus, there is only one remaining option – “herd immunity”. This can only be achieved once the majority of people (perhaps 70%) have been infected and recover (or die). The problem is that even if 99% of infected people recover, and 90% of them have only mild to moderate symptoms, over 2,000,000 Americans will die, and over 20,000,000 will suffer long term damage to their health. The other problem is that in order to achieve herd immunity in two years, we would need an average of over 300,000 infections per day in the USA. In order to achieve global herd immunity in two years, the world would need an average of over 7,000,000 infections per day.

There are some who believe that most people have already been infected and have recovered with little to no symptoms, and that we are already approaching herd immunity. I wish I could believe that. I hope that’s true. But I believe that only about 5% of the US population (about 16,000,000) have acquired some form of immunity, and that areas that have been less affected (such as St. Johns County) have less than 2% immunity.

While I am by no means an expert (and even the experts keep changing their minds), I do have my own opinion about what is going to happen. I hope I am completely wrong.

I do not believe that this will be seasonal like the flu. I believe that daily cases will gradually drop over the next two weeks, then level off for a couple of weeks, then start climbing somewhat during the second half of June, then climb dramatically during July, August and September, at rates much higher than we have yet seen. Various cities and states will reinstate partial or even full lockdowns in response to hotspots, causing increasing numbers of protests. Counties such as St. Johns, that have been extremely fortunate thus far, will almost certainly start to see large increases. I hate feeling this way, but I believe it’s going to get very ugly, and nothing would give me more relief than to find out I am wrong.

If you don’t believe me, please DON’T change your mind. I am not suggesting that everyone run and hide. Some of us SHOULD and WILL go out and potentially get exposed, and some of us SHOULD and WILL stay secluded to avoid exposure, and these two groups should try to respectfully avoid each other. Nature is going to run its course. Our best option right now is to try to prevent daily infections from spiking too high until we can develop effective anti-viral treatment regimens and vaccines, while also rebuilding our shattered economy.

And please, PLEASE remember:

Everything above is only my OPINION.
I am NOT an expert.
I MAY be a complete fool.
I sincerely HOPE I’m completely wrong.
I desperately WISH everything was safe.
I KNOW that we will get through this.

So please, be consumed neither by fear nor by overconfidence. Please remain vigilant and respectful.

And PLEASE do not reply to this letter with political garbage - I will delete it.

I hope the Prince can open much sooner than later! We miss all of you! WE WILL BE BACK!!

Sincerely,
Jake Firth
Owner
The Prince Of Wales Restaurant

03/22/2020

Please be vigilant everyone...

03/19/2020

We have closed entirely for now until further notice due to COVID-19. This decision was made to protect our patrons and staff. I would hate to think that even one single person might have been infected as a result of staying open.

This virus has terrified world leaders of all governmental persuasions and has resulted in huge, unprecedented steps to contain it, and yet the worst is yet to come.

Our best option as a city, as a state, as a country, and as a planet, is to isolate as much as possible, to flatten the curve, so fewer people get ill and fewer people die.

I would like to thank Mayor Tracy Upchurch, City Manager John Regan, and the City of St. Augustine for proactively banning alcohol sales in *all* restaurants. It is a huge, huge blow to the service industry, but was absolutely necessary.

Where would all of the St. Patty's Day revelers have gone when all the bars had to shut down at 5pm as per Governor DeSantis's order, in their quest for alcohol? Every other restaurant, packing in with standing room only. Instead, they left.

Less spread, less dead.

We shall overcome this global scourge, and the more we work together to stay apart, the faster and less tragic it will be.

We look forward to opening again once it is safe to do so. Thank you all for your patronage and know that great times lie ahead.

Be safe and be well!

-Jake

Keep calm and get your Irish on at The Prince of Wales! 🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀Come join us March 17th for our St. Paddy's Day celebra...
03/16/2020

Keep calm and get your Irish on at The Prince of Wales! 🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀
Come join us March 17th for our St. Paddy's Day celebration! 🍻 🍻
Noon -10pm

Thanks to all our local support bars , thanks social lounge, thanks to ann o Malleys, tanks to Zora Bora
03/14/2020

Thanks to all our local support bars , thanks social lounge, thanks to ann o Malleys, tanks to Zora Bora

We just want to say a big thank you to our locals who keep us in business. We really appreciate your loyalty
03/13/2020

We just want to say a big thank you to our locals who keep us in business. We really appreciate your loyalty

Address

54 Cuna Street
Saint Augustine, FL
32084

Opening Hours

Monday 12pm - 10pm
Tuesday 12pm - 10pm
Wednesday 12pm - 10pm
Thursday 12pm - 10pm
Friday 12pm - 11pm
Saturday 11am - 10pm
Sunday 11am - 10pm

Telephone

+19048105725

Website

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