The Hum: Taos Mesa Brewing rises again
Taos Mesa Brewing aims to rebuild after fire
ON JULY 2, AT ABOUT 2:30 A.M., a fire started at Taos Mesa Brewing’s Mothership, one of the primary music venues in Taos, located at 20 ABC Mesa Road off of Highway 64 in El Prado.
According to Jayson Wylie, president/director of brewing operations, it will be three to four months before the Mothership is repaired from the fire damage. Like other restaurants, bars and venues, Taos Mesa Brewing has been struggling to keep afloat amid the pandemic. The fire adds to that struggle.
I spoke with Wylie on the phone about the GoFundMe fundraiser for Taos Mesa Brewing that he started a few days after the fire. He said he was prompted to set up the GoFundMe
Fire damage inside the Mothership on the mesa. fundraiser after several people asked what they could to do help out. As of press time, more than $15,000 was raised of a goal of $50,000.
“The positive responses are overwhelming,” said Wylie. “It really helps you remember what you’re doing, and who you’re doing it for.”
Wylie told me the money raised on the fundraising platform will be used to pay for expenses such as the deductible for their business insurance and their insurance premium, as well as other bills.
“We’ve been shut down since early March by forced COVID-19 closures. Our revenue has been depreciated since early March by about 85-90 percent, give or take. That’s incredibly significant. We’ve had to lay off a lot of our staff in that time. We’re now approaching the three-month mark of COVID-19 closures and reduced revenues. As you might imagine, any savings that we might have had, or any resources that we had, have dwindled,” said Wylie.
Before COVID-19 restrictions, Wylie said that Taos Mesa Brewing employed 71 people between their Mothership and Taos Tap Room locations, in addition to employing musicians and production crews for live shows. Closures, due to COVID-19, have caused the brewery to reduce staffing to fewer than 20 people.
Taos Mesa Brewing recently launched an innovative web-based platform for producing live shows for a remote audience. Musicians performed from the Mothership stage following strict COVID-19 safety measures, and were livestreamed on the brewery’s website. Those who tuned in were encouraged to donate for each concert to support the musicians and production crew.
At a time when musicians and production crews are out of work, TMB-TV offered some welcome support to the music community. I asked Wylie what will happen to TMB-TV now that the Mothership is closed for restoration. He assured me that Taos Mesa Brewing is working on reconfiguring this effort and continuing it in a mobile format.
Just prior to the fire, Taos Mesa Brewing management had decided to open the Mothership for takeout service, while following COVID-19 safety guidelines.
“We were really dedicated to getting open and serving the public as responsibly as we could,” said Wylie. “This [fire] threw a little monkey wrench in it, but luckily, nobody was injured … we’re very thankful for that. We’re going to pick up the pieces and try to march on and keep doing what we do.”
While the Mothership is closed for the time being, the Taos Tap Room, at 201 Paseo del Pueblo Sur in downtown Taos, continues to be open for takeout service from noon to 9 p.m., seven days a week. Beer, wine, cider and a variety of foods from wood-fired pizzas to braised meatballs, sandwiches and salads are available.
To place an order, visit the Tap Room’s website at taosmesabrewing. com/taos-tap-room, or call (575) 7581900 ext. 2. Gift certificates for the Taos Tap Room can also be purchased.
Visit gofundme.com/save-themothership to donate to or learn more about the fundraiser to help rebuild the Mothership.