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Burgeoning Penticton brewery scene takes another pandemic January in stride

Another COVID-impacted New Year's Eve was something no one wanted to see, particularly those who enjoy fraternizing with other humans, perhaps with drink in hand, on the big night.

<who>Photo Credit: Slackwater Brewing</who> Slackwater Brewing's comical NYE poster

Indeed, there were times this summer when all the indoor venues had opened again and masks had become purely optional, convincing all but the most jaded that this New Year's might be somewhat -- dare we say -- normal.

But then the masks came back. And then in November, the Omicron variant appeared. So too did new indoor gathering mandates, just as holiday season bore down upon us.

Today, it's like we're all reliving a scene from Footloose. Mingling is frowned upon and dancing is strictly forbidden.

So we wanted to gauge the thoughts of those in the Penticton brewery/pub scene -- a hugely important local industry. Though their hours of operation haven't been impacted by the lastest round of regs, stuff like table spacing and customer behavior certainly have. So we wondered how they were coping as 2021 becomes 2022.

And for the most part their responses were…hopeful.

"I know our team is really excited to say farewell to what's been another absolutely peachy year for everybody," cracked Slackwater Brewing's Liam Peyton, adding that Slackwater scheduled a no-dancing, seated-only Y2K-themed affair on New Year's Eve.

<who>Photo Credit: NowMedia</who> Slackwater Brewing

"Yep, Y2K because we didn't want to talk about 2021 anymore," he laughed. "We wanted to go back to simpler times when the only thing that was going to bring doom and gloom was a mythical computer virus."

Peyton said that with case counts rising once more (in the fall), "everyone saw the restrictions coming."

"But we're very happy they didn't take away service hours. Last year on December 30th, they dropped the axe on New Year's, saying they wanted everyone to close by 8 pm. I'm glad they didn’t pull that on us again."

However, said Peyton, there was "some confusion" in the mandate wording.

"So we had to reformat our New Year's event, whether we had to or not in retrospect. We're lucky though with the space in our building. When we have to do six feet between tables, we have a lot of room to do it."

Looking ahead, Peyton is most psyched about the a drag show he's booked for Jan. 22. He hopes pandemic regulations ease somewhat when the next batch is announced four days prior.

"We've never sold out an event so fast in the history of the business," he said.

The art of drag was an equally big deal for Brexit Pub a few weeks ago. And the event's success had a lot to do with timing.

<who>Photo Credit: NowMedia</who> Martyn Lewis of Brexit Pub

"The province lifted the restrictions in early November," said Brexit boss Martyn Lewis, "then put them back on. So we had that small window to make hay, and we had this drag event. It was a sellout. It brought in a lot of revenue for us and for them (the performers) too.

"And that's what you have to do right now. You have to pick your moment and make it happen."

Lewis believes the current restrictions are devastating only for places classified as nightclubs or bars (where meals are not served), all of which are currently enduring forced closures. Penticton has no such establishment.

He also believes current restrictions will be "relaxed" within weeks.

"They've set a day of January 18th (to revamp the mandate)," he said. "I don’t think Omicron will be the worst twist in this horrible tale."

On New Year's Eve, Lewis had hoped the venue, which is licensed to dispense alcohol 'til 3 am, would host the "biggest party in the city." Instead, Dec 31st was a relatively sedate affair for a business that's now been operational just as long within the COVID era as it was prior to it.

Lewis credits adaptation with keeping Brexit afloat and even profitable during the pandemic.

"The first thing we did when COVID happened," he said, "is let anyone who wanted to quit quit. At the time, I went from 12 employees to two. It was a really good team (prior to the exodus), but I changed the business model and we became much more efficient.

"I've been able to keep the bills paid and kept a little bit more coming in. It's only since they started gently lifting the restrictions that we began to expand things again."

For Highway 97 Brewing, 2021 was a "whirlwind."

<who>Photo Credit: NowMedia</who> Nick Kapusty of Highway 97 Brewing

It closed its old cross-town facility in April, continued producing and selling beer for several months without a storefront while simultaneously renovating its new space at 200 Ellis St., then opened its venue in late December. All of this during the worst pandemic in modern history.

"Yeah, it was a whirlwind," said Highway 97 operations manager Nick Kaupsty while taking a quick break in his new taproom. "We shut down during COVID and had to keep our off-sales going at all times. And we had a lot of construction to do. We had a lot of long, long days."

The hope was that COVID would be on the outs when the new digs were officially christened. Or at least that restrictions wouldn’t ramp up again.

"But," said Kapusty, "it just so happened that the restrictions came out the day after we opened. So it is what it is. We're hoping it doesn’t last very long, but you never know."

On New Year's Eve, Highway 97 opted to close early, at 7pm, to give the staff a break.

"We did have a band that was going to play, but the restrictions canceled those plans. So we decided as a group that we'd just take it easy on News Year's," said Kapusty.

Going forward, live music will ideally "play a big role" in the brewery's plans. They also want to bring in comedians. How all of this will be impacted by the pandemic is of course still up in the air.

But one thing is certain. Kapusty is currently having a tough time finding kitchen staff. And he's pretty sure COVID is to blame.

"We have a good front of house staff, but we're still really looking for kitchen staff," he said. "And we've had no luck. We have two cooks, but we'd like to have four or five. We need chefs, but the picking right now is very slim."

But of all the businesses we chatted with for this article, only one can claim its entire lifespan has unfolded inside the COVID bubble. And that's Neighbourhood Brewing.

<who>Photo Credit: NowMedia</who> Brittney Beazley of Neighbourhood Brewing

"We opened during COVID, in November of 2020," said Neighbourhood assistant manager Brittney Beazley, who downplayed its effect.

"We've always been with restrictions, so it hasn’t really hit us. We do seem to be the hip spot right now. Everyone wants to come here. So I think we've done really well."

Beazley feels the latest set of restrictions have been only a minor detriment to business.

"They haven’t really impacted us other than we can’t have more than 6 people at a table. And we separated the tables upstairs a little. That's it.

"We're not a bar. We're still family oriented. Last call is 9:45 (pm). So we're doing pretty well."

Nor has Neighbourhood had issues hiring and keeping staff. According to Beazley, they're essentially set on a staff they can "go intro summer with."

However, Beazley leaves little doubt that Neigbourhood would love to see an easing of regulations on Jan. 18.

"We're hoping that when it gets lifted, we can finally have some parties up here and be able to help the people who couldn't have parties at Christmas.

"But right now we're just along for the ride and trying to go with what Bonnie Henry is saying."



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