Texas breweries have been struggling to stay financially stable since their taverns were ordered to close for the second time in late June due to the increase in new coronavirus cases across the state. And according to a survey released earlier this week by the Texas Craft Brewers Guild (TCBG), many of these breweries will likely have to close by the end of the year.
According to the survey, one in three Texas breweries predicts they will have to close permanently in less than three months, and two in three believe they will not arrive until the end of 2020. This is assumed if the bar and stopper shutter does not lift. and / or the government does not provide substantial support to keep these companies open.
Breweries surveyed (87 out of 545 TCBG members) also shared that there has been almost 55 percent year-over-year decline, and they have had to lay off or suspend about 36 percent of their staff since the start of the pandemic.
Texas breweries and bars (also known as businesses that earn more than 51 percent of their gross income from alcohol sales) were ordered to close in late March by Texas Governor Greg Abbott to mitigate the spread of the new coronavirus . In mid-May, Abbott allowed breweries and bars to reopen for in-person service with certain restrictions, such as limited indoor capacity, implementing social distancing, and installing tables for people to sit rather than stand. But in late May, several weeks after Texas began reopening nonessential businesses, the number of new coronavirus cases in the state increased rapidly, leading to the second shutdown.
During the most recent Mandatory blinds, breweries may still remain open for the sale of takeaway beer. Similarly, breweries and breweries with on-site restaurants, such as Jester King Brewery, may remain open for dinner services due to heavy food components and the type of permit.
To increase their declining sales and thus try to avoid the possibility of a permanent shutdown, several Texas breweries, including Austin Beerworks and Live Oak Brewing Co., had reopened or were planning to reopen their self-service patios earlier this week. . Customers can buy beers to go and then drink them on the patios by themselves. This self-service strategy grew out of an interpretation of a new temporary license modification that the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) issued on Friday, July 17; allows companies to temporarily expand their alcohol permit coverage in previously discovered areas.
The breweries interpreted the modification as meaning that they could “exclude patios and beer gardens from their premises,” according to Community impact, “Allow[ing] guests to buy their take-out and then have the guests drink in that patio ”without table service. TCBG Executive Director Charles Vallhonrat admitted to the newspaper that there was “confusion” about what the amendment really meant on Tuesday, June 21.
Then on Wednesday, July 22, TABC issued an update stating that breweries were never allowed to legally reopen their beverage service patios under license modification permission. “TABC does not allow breweries to alter their permitted locations for customers to consume alcohol purchased on the premises,” Chris Porter, the agency’s public information officer, told Eater. The updated statement indicated that all companies that obtain 51 percent or more of their sales through alcohol must still remain closed due to the governor’s orders.
Valhonrat believes it is unfair that Abbott “inexplicably” closes the breweries again, as expressed in a statement, when “they were operating under the same health, safety and social distancing guidelines as the restaurants and other businesses that the governor has allowed to remain open. We only ask for consistency and fairness. ” According to the statement, take-out sales at breweries have declined because “customers looking to enjoy a beer may simply go down the street for a drink at a restaurant that is allowed to stay open.”
In the same statement, Josh Hare, the founder of the East Austin Hops & Grain brewery, echoed Valhonrat’s assessment:
Unfortunately, that business model [to-go beers] It is not sustainable for most breweries, large and small, and smaller breweries are the most affected due to their dependence on the community tavern model. It has had a decimating effect on the industry. While restaurants and virtually every other type of business across the state remain open, small craft breweries are struggling to survive and make their communities aware that they need their support now more than ever.
That’s why TCBG launched the #SaveTexasBreweries campaign, which encourages people to buy beer to go straight from the breweries, as well as gift cards and merchandise. The nonprofit is also asking people to demand that Governor Abbott allow the breweries to reopen. According to statistics released by the Brewers Association in 2018, Texas craft breweries ranked third in the country for economic impact, meaning that if two-thirds of the state’s breweries were to disappear, the state’s economy would be decimated.
