Sycamore Brewing closes taproom for the day, citing unsafe crowds during COVID-19
On Saturday evening, Sycamore Brewing closed its taproom for the remainder of the evening, citing unsafe crowd numbers during COVID-19 at the brewery in South End.
“Taproom management and our security team felt unable to control the number of people coming onto the property and the numbers became what we deem to be unsafe for the beer garden. Thank you for your understanding,” the Charlotte brewery posted on Facebook.
“Our taproom management team felt closing down was necessary for crowd control early Saturday evening. We have an outdoor-only setup at this point and we have hired security personnel to assist our taproom staff in keeping guests safe,” Sycamore Brewing managing member Sarah Taylor Brigham told CharlotteFive on Sunday.
The community responded with support of the local brewery, which has been a leader in safety during the coronavirus pandemic.
It was one of the first businesses to voluntarily close temporarily in March, when COVID-19 began impacting the community. It also closed temporarily in August due to an employee’s exposure to the coronavirus.
“Kudos to you all for taking the proper precautions and understanding this virus is real and deadly, even if not all of your customers understand. It’s just another reason I will choose to buy your beer above all others,” Heather MacDougall commented on Facebook.
“Kudos for doing what some other breweries and businesses can’t (or won’t) do,” David Castañeda wrote on Facebook.
This comes just days after Olde Mecklenburg Brewery defended its Mecktoberfest party, a three-day beer festival that resulted in thousands of attendees in September. County officials have linked at least five positive COVID-19 results to the OMB event.
On Sept. 26, Triple C Brewing Co. closed its taproom temporarily to disperse crowds, citing a concern over capacity.
This story was originally published October 17, 2020 at 6:41 PM.
