WORD TO THE WISE
  Sam Holloway  
President,
Co-Founder
Greetings!
HOW & WHEN SHOULD I PREPARE TO REOPEN MY BREWPUB OR TAPROOM?
What does social distancing mean for restaurant, brewpub or taproom operations? Should I even consider reopening if there isn't a vaccine? What are experience-based businesses in China and overseas doing, since they are farther down the curve?

These gut wrenching decisions are flooding our minds and filling my inbox as CAS members seek to balance public and employee health with the economic necessities looming in July, August and September. Even if we are able to secure emergency aid from the government to bring back our workers for 8 more weeks, what happens after that? Some reports, such as in the prestigious journal Science, suggest that social distancing may need to be in effect until 2022. It is time we start working together to design the new reality so we can emerge from summer 2021 with our businesses still alive. Here is a forum thread to share best practices or ideas (members only). Below are some good things to think about from some restaurant publications.
IDEAS FROM RESTAURANT REOPENINGS IN CHINA AND EUROPE

How would a socially distant restaurant operate? I found this article, dated March 13, 2020, from Modern Restaurant Management. This article shares wisdom from across the industry and the results of a survey of 100 restaurant owners. In particular, I liked the ideas from Bo Peabody, Co-founder and Executive Chairman of the app Seated, Board Member of Boqueria Restaurants, and Co-Owner of Mezze Restaurant Group:
  • Beyond spacing out tables, take advantage of outdoor space if you have it available.
  • To the extent that you can, create spaces where people can feel safer because there’s airflow and they’re not confined in a space with no windows.
  • Up the restaurant’s hygiene and cleanliness standards: fully sanitize tables, menus and chairs after each reservation.
  • Continue to clearly communicate your plan of action to both customers and employees. 

This article is about a 5 minute read. Also included is information on table ordering systems and other measures to help invent our new reality. Image credit: Presto.com
NEW BEER RELEASE METHODOLOGY FROM BACKWOODS BREWING COMPANY

I know I sound like a broken record. I keep touting the fun experiments I see CAS Members, Backwoods Brewing do to keep morale up and keep the dollars flowing (even if only a trickle). This past week I saw them develop a beer release program using Zoom, social media, and a lot of hustle. On May 1, 2020 Backwoods will do an "in your own home" beer release of their new Hazy Pale "Drink At Home Save Lives." Here's a quote from Backwoods CEO, Steve Waters:

We are never sure if the financial returns to having fun (in a program like this) will really get there, but fun is all we have currently to look forward to. Ultimately, I can see us keeping some of these ideas going even after we get back closer to normal."
~Steve Waters, Backwoods Brewing Company CEO
LATEST UPLOADS
New Resource Page:
(Publicly Available)

New Forum Thread:

New External Article:
(The Drinks Business)
WHAT'S BREWING
WHAT US RESTAURANTS AND TAPROOMS CAN EXPECT WHEN THEY REOPEN - EVIDENCE FROM ITALY, CHINA AND BEYOND

In our quest to prepare you for all sorts of alternate futures, we did some searching for articles of economies that are farther down the public health curve and experimenting with reopening their economies. From personal tracing to table placement, we will continue to flood you with ideas that you can filter through based on your own physical space and design constraints. This article brings some optimism as 78% of Italians support reopening restaurants with some social distancing measures in place.

However, it is not all happiness and optimism. The Drinks Business reports that 75,000 Italian restaurant owners will protest the strict social distancing guidelines set for a June 1, 2020 reopening. The entrepreneurs believe the Italian government's restrictions (such as plexiglass between tables) will require them to reopen and then operate at a loss. Image Credit: TheDrinksBusiness.com
FEATURED MEMBER OF THE MONTH
Steve Waters, CEO
Backwoods Brewing Company
Carson, Washington (USA)
Congratulations to our first ever, two-time winner of the CAS Member of the Month, Steve Waters!

Steve is among the most generous Member Experts in our community and regularly shares his thoughts on our forums and on podcasts. The reason I made him our first two-time winner has been his response to questions about COVID-19 and applying for funding from the United States' Small Business Administration. So, apologies to our non-USA members spread across the globe, but within each of these blogs is wisdom that can help anyone, anywhere in the world:

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