How was the Charlotte brewery scene the first couple of days of COVID Phase 2?
Many Charlotteans spent this past weekend doing something they haven’t done for almost two months. They had a beer at a brewery.
Legion Brewing founder Phil Buchy was happy to see his South Park brewpub’s dining room and patio back in action this weekend. Even during the typically slower hours between lunch and dinner, the brewpub was filled with people.
It was almost business as usual, but not quite.
“It’s awesome hearing the buzz of the people, and seeing life back in the building,” said Buchy. “But it is a little surreal. It’s a familiar sound, but it’s not all the way there yet.”
Buchy and other area brewers and restaurateurs spent the weekend — and the days leading up to it — preparing themselves for Phase Two of the state’s reopening plan, which allowed restaurants to open but required they operate at 50 percent capacity, space tables six feet apart and abide by signage and sanitation guidelines.
Because both Legion Brewing locations serve food, Buchy knew he could open up at 5 p.m. on Friday. Owners of breweries without kitchens sought additional clarification as to whether they could open (like a restaurant) or must remain closed (like a bar). Their answer came late in the afternoon Friday: because breweries are involved in the production of beer and not only the sale of alcohol, they were permitted to open.
For many, that answer came too late in the day. Others decided to take additional days or even weeks to prepare before reopening.
Many of those that have opened their doors have taken the #NCBeer Pledge, an effort by the North Carolina Craft Brewers Guild to show that breweries are in compliance with recommended safety measures.
In addition to spreading out tables, Buchy has placed hand sanitizer throughout the building. Employees have several hydrogen peroxide stations and are cleaning the facilities, menus and other points of contact. They are also wearing masks where appropriate, Buchy said.
When the stay-at-home order was issued, Buchy took his staff of 150 employees down to only 11. With the federal government offering some furloughed employees an additional $600 in unemployment benefits, Buchy said he was a little concerned some might not opt to come back — but every one of them did.
“We were a little worried about that, but we didn’t have a single staff member that we asked to come back say no,” Buchy said. “Everybody came back, and everybody’s super excited to be back. It’s nice seeing everybody here. They’re part of our family.”
Triple C Brewing Co.
The same was true at Triple C Brewing Co., which opened at noon on Saturday.
“If anything it’s just a sign of normalcy, and people don’t like sitting at home and not working,” said Triple C founder Chris Harker. “When they got the call, they were excited to come back. I think your average bartender is a people person and not an introvert, and they’ve been cooped up.”
In addition to following recommended cleaning measures, laminated signs at each table let patrons know if the table had been sanitized. When patrons left, they could flip the signs from green to red to let servers know the table needed cleaning again.
“We did work really hard to use some of the tools that the brewers guild has given us,” Harker said. “We got some really good feedback from people that said they thought we were taking it more seriously than some.”
When asked what his general takeaway from this weekend, Buchy didn’t hesitate.
“Everybody’s happy,” Buchy said. “You can see the ice melting a little bit. It’s just been really cool to be a part of.”
Busy patios aside, Buchy will continue catering to those who want to pick up beer to-go, and even plans to install separate point-of-sale areas for those customers. Not everyone is ready to hang out on a patio or belly up to a bar just yet, which he said was evident by the crowd this weekend. While Buchy said the SouthPark location usually attracts people of all ages, he noted that this weekend’s visitors skewed younger.
“You can tell that the general public is not quite ready yet,” Buchy said. “There’s a lot of support from people that are. But there are a lot that are still on the sidelines that aren’t.”
This story was originally published May 24, 2020 at 7:46 PM.
