Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Breweries aren’t immune to recession
Area breweries aren’t immune from recession in coronavirus era
Beer has long been believed to be recession-proof. Berks County’s craft brewpubs, on the other hand, are not immune to the economic realities facing any other restaurant or bar during the coronavirus pandemic.
Few industries were growing at a rate faster than craft beer, which saw the number of breweries in the U.S. balloon from around 1,000 to more than 8,000 over the last decade. Yet, with dining areas and tasting rooms forced to empty in an effort to slow the spread of a deadly illness, a vital business component is lost.
“Our beer sales are keeping us alive,” said Kyle Neuheimer, founder of Oakbrook Brewing Company in Reading. “If we didn’t have that, we wouldn’t be able to turn our lights on.”
Oakbrook Brewing, like most area brewpubs, is still offering food to go. However, these establishments typically double as trendy spots where friends, families and complete strangers gather for hours at a time to share a meal, grab drinks, watch the game or just hang out.
Takeout sales alone don’t account for all of that, especially when human beings are staying inside their homes and distancing from one another as much as possible.
“People don’t realize how difficult it is to have 50, 60, 70% of your business cut,” said Kirby Powell, vice president of operations and co-owner of Saucony Creek Brewing Company with locations in Maxatawny Township and Reading.
Built to endure
Though the food and beverage industry has fallen on hard times, there does seem to be a consensus beer sales are giving brewpubs an advantage over other restaurants. Still, to-go food sales are not a major source of revenue so far.
“It’s been a struggle for us,” said Randy McKinley, general manager at Sly Fox Taphouse at The Knitting Mills in Wyomissing. “I can’t figure out why we’re not doing better than we are.”
Likewise, Powell described Saucony Creek’s to-go orders as “sporadic,” with some days better than others.
But at least there’s beer. McKinley estimates between 80-90% of orders include beverages — anything from growler fills to kegs. And while food sales are languishing, larger brewers like Pottstown-based Sly Fox and Saucony Creek are aided somewhat by beer distribution.
“We’re not the new kid on the block,” said McKinley. “We’ve been around 25 years. We’re well established. I’m not saying it’s easy for us, but I feel bad for those start-up restaurants that are really struggling.”
Broken Chair Brewery in West Reading doesn’t sell food and doesn’t distribute, and in some ways, that might be working to its benefit. The operation is a little more insulated from the social-distancing policies currently being enacted.
“I just don’t see a lot of (takeout food ordering) going on,” said Todd Bray, owner of Broken Chair Brewery. “There’s some, but not as much as you think. And as far as the beer, my product is unique to my facility.”
When the statewide shutdown began, Broken Chair remained open with reduced hours for beer sales. Within days, Bray had to extend the new hours “to meet demand.”
Neuheimer said he “sympathizes” with restaurants that didn’t have beer sales to fall back on and already closed. However, small outfits like Oakbrook Brewing are still at risk if customers continue prioritizing chains over local businesses.
“I keep hearing people are ordering takeout, but they’re sticking with the big chains,” said Neuheimer,
who resorted to posting Oakbrook’s spotless health record on social media. “I don’t know if they trust a big name more than a smaller shop, but I see it over and over and it’s really sad.”
Helping in a time of need
Across the board, brewpubs have already reduced staff, particularly on the wait and hospitality end. Still, employers are doing what they can.
Broken Chair Brewery only has one full-time worker, its brewer, but thanks to the success of togo beer sales, Bray has been able to keep him on the payroll. The rest were part-timers using the job as an extra source of income.
“I did manage to give them some money the first two weeks,” said Bray. “The big thing is I’m keeping him employed and making enough money to pay his salary, but I’m still losing money because I’m paying rent, utilities and any other bills that come along.”
Sly Fox could only afford to keep its full-time people, but is doing what it can to put food on its employees’ tables — literally. Staff are still entitled to one free shift meal per day and have access to food donations from local suppliers. All tips from to-go orders are being saved and will be given to bartenders as well.
At Oakbrook Brewing, where shifts are scaled back, employees who can live without the income are giving up their hours to those who need the work more.
Brewpub owners are also thinking of others affected by the coronavirus crisis. Powell said he’s made an effort to frequent other restaurants, while Brady was worried about the many musicians who have no place to perform right now. Neuheimer also donated a bunch of N95 masks he came across.
Of course, the biggest assistance businesses can ask for right now is in the form of community support, which they’re getting from the “regulars” or repeat customers.
“We’ve got a loyal customer base and they understand the situation everyone is in,” said Bray. “I really didn’t know what to expect, but they’re coming in and picking up their product.”
“It’s important everybody pulls together and supports local business, because it’s your neighbors and your friends having trouble,” said Powell.
Specials and discounts available
If you can afford to order takeout, now isn’t a bad time to check out the local brewpub. Not only can you pick up beer, but quite a few are running daily or ongoing specials.
Saucony Creek has been offering a select meals and a four-pack of beer for $20, or two meals and beer for $30. Sly Fox is doing buy one pizza, get the other for half off — normally a oneday promotion now available all week long.
Oakbrook Brewing says it can’t can’t afford to offer discounts right now, but did just release a new beer: Quarantine in the Spring. The French ale was originally supposed to be called Paris in the Spring. Neuheimer felt this was more appropriate given the circumstances.
Quarantine in the Spring is currently available in growler fills only.
No matter your drink or brewery of choice, there’s one more reason to keep buying beer, and it isn’t just to help cope with isolation and anxiety caused by the coronavirus.
“Coronavirus does not live in beer,” said Powell. “The environment is too harsh for the virus to live, so you don’t need to be afraid of that.”