The impact of COVID-19 is already hitting hard and unfortunately this may be only the beginning for the Nightlife and Hospitality Industry. There have been an increasing number of outbreaks of people being directly affected by the virus, and now we are seeing an increasing number of businesses that are being impacted indirectly. Bars and Restaurants across the country’s major cities have been ordered to close their doors to the public for a minimum of 30 days. This means that at a minimum, Bars and Restaurants will not be able to generate any revenue. Not only does this impact the businesses, but also the employees such as the chefs, the waiters and waitresses, the bartenders, the hosts and hostesses, and the list goes on. These are hard working individuals who make a living by serving the general public. It is important that we, the general public, make an effort to give back service to them. 

Businesses in this industry bring people together to enjoy themselves and create opportunities for others beyond dates and social gatherings. For example, a restaurant creates an opportunity for a Food Blogger and a cocktail lounge brings joy to a Whiskey Connoisseur. These venues will not be able to gain any foot traffic for the time being, so we have to think of other ways to help these businesses in a time of need. 

Here are some ideas that involve having power of the internet and social media at our fingertips:

Starting out with Social Media, almost every Nightclub, Bar or Restaurant has either an Instagram or a Facebook page. Creating more exposure can involve sharing their pages or liking their pages. We can go on Yelp and give positive reviews for some of our favorite spots. This is a helpful start, but we can do more.

There are still some venues that you can help directly. Right now many Restaurants are posting on their Instagram pages advising hours that you can order delivery or pick-up. 

For the ones who are already closed, it would be awesome to start sharing content that excites people for the future. This can at least give people desirable places or meals to add to their bucket lists. The best way is for us to share stories and experiences that these venues have provided us. In turn this can get the word out about must-attend clubs or must-have dinner plates. 

As I mentioned above, the Hospitality industry consists of a tremendous amount of hard working people. Down in Texas there are already industry personnel looking at alternative solutions.  If you go to Change.org, there is a Petition going on right now called, "Texas Comptroller: Cancel Texas Mixed Beverage Tax & Sales Tax During COVID-19." The petition is asking the State of Texas to cancel or delay Mixed Beverage Gross & Sales Taxes, and/or Sales tax for a period of time. This could help alleviate some of the financial hardships that these venues are facing. 

These are just a few of the ideas that we can implement right away. I am going to leave the comments open on this blog for anyone interested to suggest and support other ideas. 

To start, here is an example of one of my recent stand out experiences. I recently visited a local Pennsylvania craft brewery in West Reading named, Broken Chair Brewery,  where I was offered this amazing flight of beer to try. I know there has always been the debate about whether Pineapple should go on Pizza, but in beer?!? No way. Regardless, I ordered the flight so I had to try it. I was blown away that it had the flavorful hops of a normal IPA. The pineapple was a perfect touch. I am excited and looking forward to the future so that I can return to the brewery and enjoy one of my new favorite beers. Stay up to date on what they are brewing by following their Instagram Page @brokenchairbrewery

Stay strong and stay safe everyone!