Bar switch:
As reopenings stall, group in survival mode
Some pubs to become retail spaces for spirits.
One of San Francisco’s more prolific bar groups has decided surviving the coronavirus pandemic means walking away from traditional bar service as the path to reopening remains unclear.
Future Bars group, which operates a cadre of popular, innovative San Francisco drinking spots, including Bourbon & Branch, Devil’s Acre and Local Edition, is planning to turn its bars into retail spaces where folks can buy hardtofind spirits like Japanese whiskeys and artisan mezcals. The first bar to make the change will be Devil’s Acre in North Beach, which will turn into Future Bars’ retail brand Cask.
The move mimics how many Bay Area restaurants shifted into neighborhood markets following the region’s imposition of shelterinplace orders in March.
The change comes after Doug Dalton and his business partners were ready to reopen Devil’s Acre roughly three weeks ago, when it seemed like California had a handle on new coronavirus infections, and the state’s bar industry would get its first shot at recovering from an economic collapse.
Then infections surged across California, San Francisco officials twice delayed local reopenings, and on
Monday, Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered bars everywhere to close.
“With the constant moving of when we can open, we’ve been kind of stuck in this purgatory of hiring and bringing people back but not being able to do
anything else,” Dalton said. “This was the most feasible option for us moving forward, and it helps us keep our staff.”
The booths, wooden tables and chairs in the Devil’s Acre space, which opened in 2014, will be replaced by bottles and casks. Customers will have the option of calling ahead to schedule pickups.
It’s one of several measures the Future Bars crew has implemented for financial survival during the pandemic. Both Dalton and business partner Brian Sheehy are forgoing their salaries in order to help pay employees and keep their businesses afloat.
The move to retail has local precedent. Anthony Strong, chef and owner of Prairie, turned his Mission District restaurant into a neighborhood grocery store early in shelter in place, making it the city’s first upscale restaurant to shut down its traditional dining service in favor of offering groceries and meal kits. Sauces and seasonings that were previously used in the kitchen were packaged and sold directly to customers. Multiple restaurants followed suit, and Strong’s store remains active today.
“Prairie was ahead of the curve, thinking that way,” Dalton said. “This is something that we can do because we have the expertise and the trained staff for it, and what we offer are not just things you want to find at a typical liquor store, like Japanese whiskeys and artisanal mescals.”
Opening more Cask stores is also a reflection of drinking trends in the Bay Area since the start of the pandemic. According to data from BACtrack, a San Francisco company that produces smartphoneconnected breathalyzer devices, San Franciscans were consuming 45% more alcohol on weekdays as of April.
Still, Dalton said a more prominent issue remains for bars once reopening phases continue. The state Alcoholic Beverage Control agency, before Newsom’s order for closures, eased its guidelines for togo cocktails. But bars still needed to sell cocktails and beers with food orders. The situation and its guidelines make running a bar in the city untenable right now, Dalton said.
“Then you’re paying like $20 just for a cocktail. That doesn’t make sense,” he said. “We just don’t want bars being treated as ancillary businesses, almost like less responsible places than restaurants. But we’re just going to keep doing what we can.” Justin Phillips is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jphillips@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JustMrPhillips