Brewers attempt to deal with new restrictions
Marin County brewers suffered their first COVID-related casualty earlier this month when Iron Springs Public House in San Rafael decided, due to the economic impacts of the ongoing pandemic, to shut down. The food and drink service industry has been hit especially hard since mandatory restrictions on how restaurants, bars and brewpubs can do business took effect early in the spring, with several new rules implemented since then.
“We saw the writing on the wall back in March, when the shutdown started,” says Iron Springs owner Mike Altman. “We just didn’t know how long it would go on for, and we had our fingers crossed. By August, we realized that if things didn’t reopen immediately, we
“By August, we realized that if things didn’t reopen immediately, we were finished.”
— Mike Altman, Iron Springs owner
were finished.”
The taproom has been closed since March, but Altman says he had hoped for months following that a chance would come to reopen. It never did.
The decision to officially
close came shortly before Marin County banned all outdoor dining on Dec. 8. Al fresco dining had for several months been restaurants’ last consistent means of doing business. Indoor dining statewide has been illegal or tightly restricted since March, with regulations waxing, waning and varying by county.
Now, Altman is hustling to maintain a sustainable cash flow at Iron Springs Pub and Brewery, the company’s headquarters and original location in Fairfax. He is relying on takeout service as well as new beer-to-your- door home delivery service at Ironspringspub. com and available to addresses in San Anselmo and Fairfax. He says he and his staff will