Friday mornings are generally quiet in the bookstore, so it's our dedicated time to keep things spic-and-span. It's worth sharing with y'all what standards we set for facility cleanliness, product freshness, guest comfort, and building security, so you can be assured that your visit to Jason's will be a happy one.

Cleanliness

Daily, we keep things tidy — vacuuming the floors, cleaning tabletops, double-checking the quality of the restrooms, etc.

Weekly, we deep-clean the restrooms and disinfect common areas with commercial-grade disinfectant. That cleaner works for hard and soft surfaces, so even the comfy chairs get misted every week. In addition, we deep-clean things like the coffee maker and espresso machine, and verify that stuff like the syrup pumps are clean and well-functioning.

At the front desk, we offer complimentary hand sanitizer, lotion, surgical masks, tissue, vinyl gloves, and surface disinfectant. We keep this material available year-round.

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The coronavirus pandemic significantly affected the way that ordinary people think about public health. Before opening the bookstore, Jason worked for decades in health care and is highly trained in infection prevention and public-health strategies. We create an environment that mitigates environmental risks by as much as we can.

Absent a direct order to the contrary by lawful authorities, we do not require masks or proof of vaccination to enter the building. We trust that, in 2023, the average citizen is well aware of the transmissibility of respiratory infections and so we support each customer's individual choice given their self-assessed relative risk. As such, we do not permit "mask shaming" — either in terms of putting them on, or in taking them off. #MindYourOwnBusiness

Freshness

All consumables — milk, cookies, muffins — are rotated weekly at a minimum to ensure that nothing is served after its past-due date, even if nothing appears to be amiss with the item. Fruit is inspected daily to check for mold, insects, and rot.

Comfort

We offer two restrooms. One of them is a grandfathered facility that pre-dates the Americans with Disabilities Act. The other restroom is fully ADA compliant. It offers a small table and padded chair for folks who need it (e.g., to express milk or to inject a medication). It also offers a sharps container, a stool and platform for changing diapers, some basic infant-care supplies, and complimentary hygiene products.

We regularly welcome guests in wheelchairs; no building access requires the use of a stair, and common-area door handles are all of a lever design.

Although Theon d'Cat lives in the back office, the front space (the bookstore and events area) and the back space (kitchen, office, and conference room) are on completely separate HVAC systems, with isolated duct work. We have found that guests with cat allergies have not been affected by Theon's presence if they remain in the front half of the building. Nevertheless, we do maintain Benadryl in the first-aid kit.

Safety

Our facility features a parking lot with overhead lights and lights along the sidewalk and at the front entrance. All of this exterior illumination is automagically controlled by optical sensors, so they operate dusk to dawn without having to be manually activated.

Inside, we've installed eight security cameras, six of which can be remotely adjusted and are capable of two-way audio. All cameras are recorded, with a rolling three weeks' history available for retrospective review. Cameras cover the events space, the bookstore, the kitchen, the conference room, and the front entrance. Staff have been trained in the child-protection protocols implemented recently by the Roman Catholic Church and as such, no children or at-risk adults are ever left alone or with just one other adult. The cameras help to reinforce this discipline.

We meet or exceed requirements for fire safety (smoke detectors, carbon-monoxide detectors, fire extinguishers) with three exterior emergency exits and plenty of emergency backup lighting.

All chemicals are logged in an MSDS binder; chemicals are stored high in the tool room so children cannot access them.

The building also offers a well-stocked first aid kit with regular rotation of the stuff that has expiration dates. This wall-mounted kit exceeds OSHA/MiOSHA requirements for a facility of our size and scope.

We hope this review helps you feel confident that your visits to Jason's will be safe, happy, and filled with All Good Things.