Last September, Heather and Justin Grant launched a second taproom for Dublin Corners Farm Brewery on Main Street in Geneseo after starting their brewery in late 2016 in York.
The future was exciting and promising for Livingston County's first craft brewery. But business was suddenly halted at both locations in March amid the novel coronavirus pandemic. And like the other 400-plus breweries in the state, the Grants are left wondering what the future might look like.
"We're looking for ways to stay relevant and survive," Heather Grant admitted, noting that they have laid off the brewery's eight part-time employees and cut beer production in half. "I think we’re on track to be OK. We didn’t overly invest in the second location, so we’re OK."
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Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s New York state on PAUSE executive order prohibits bars and restaurants from serving customers on-site, but breweries are listed in the “essential businesses” category.
And since stay-at-home orders went into effect in March, breweries are only able to sell to-go, whether it be through curbside pickup, a drive-thru window or home delivery. Dublin Corners is offering limited deliveries and growler fills to go.
But with production dramatically cut at breweries across the state, how many are on track to be OK? And how many might have to close their doors for good?
Sobering answers
Sixty percent of New York's breweries say they've lost more than three-quarters of their business, according to a New York State Brewers Association survey in April. The breweries say they've been forced to furlough or lay off most of their staffs as business dried up.
The survey, which solicited 152 responses, reported that 45% of the breweries envision they could last another three months without "significant help," while 23% said they could make up to six months without help from the government.
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It's too early to speculate how many breweries will close, but just two reported in the survey they wouldn't reopen.
"I think we’ll certainly see a few brewery closures, especially the longer this goes on," said Paul Leone, executive director of the New York State Brewers Association. "Surprisingly however, I know of several more that plan to open as soon as they are allowed, so the industry continues to stay steady at this point. All breweries will need considerable state and federal help to get by in the coming months and we’re all trying to stay hopeful this will happen."
Those findings line up with a national survey of more than 500 breweries by the Colorado-based Brewers Association, a trade group representing thousands of independent and small brewers. That survey reported breweries experienced on-site beer sale declines of 65% with draft sales falling about 95%.
And should the shutdown continue, the Brewers Association said about 6 in 10 breweries reported that could drive them out of business.
Bustling taprooms
Since most of the breweries in the Rochester region are so small, they mostly rely on selling pints, flights, and growlers. With the sudden shutdown, brewery owners who spent years developing and perfecting a business plan had to shift and pivot within days.
Brad Kennedy, co-owner and co-founder of Penfield's K2 Brothers Brewing, said the brewery derives 80% of its business from taproom sales.
K2 is proving to be the outlier during this pause. Where other breweries has drastically cut back on production (some have even stopped production altogether), the Penfield brewery is brewing just as much as before the pandemic. That means six batches per week, including a couple days of double batches.
The volume of beer being produced hasn’t been impacted, but the margins are way lower. Before, K2 was selling beer by the pint (16 ounces) for $6.50 in its tasting room, it is now available for curbside pickup in four packs (64 ounces) for roughly $15.
For the Kennedys, that has meant canning every ounce of beer produced. And that has led to 14-hour canning days. Typically, the Kennedys, through the help with Mobile Craft Canning, are packaging about 500 cases of beer per week.
"We’re getting by," Kennedy said. "We’re definitely staying afloat. I know others are really getting impacted a lot by this. I think we’ll be able to weather it. We’re excited to get back to when we can have people in here again and seeing all the familiar faces."
The shutdown has allowed the Kennedys to focus their efforts on renovating the 10,000-square-foot exterior beer garden. The materials needed for those plans were purchased before the shutdown.
K2 was also able to secure a Paycheck Protection Program loan through the federal Small Business Administration, which allowed the brewery to reopen its kitchen, albeit with a small menu, and bring back some of its furloughed employees.
Just up the road in Webster, the Dummer family at Knucklehead Craft Brewing is facing a similar reality. Len Dummer operates the brewery with his wife, Kathy, and two sons, Jake and Josh.
Dummer said the brewery is in "survival mode." The neighborhood brewery's business was built on a foundation of selling pints, cocktails, ciders and food in its tasting room. Now, it's predicated on selling growlers to-go. The brewery is selling more beer quicker than ever, but it is at a reduced cost and for a much smaller profit.
Previously, Knucklehead's team included 14 employees, including two full-time employees (Jake and Josh Dummer). Dummer said he surveyed his employees for who wanted to work and who didn't. The brewery is now open seven days a week, typically for three hours each day, to offer growler fills.
"We’re able to pay the bills," Dummer said. "We’ve been blessed, truly. The numbers obviously aren’t the same and they aren’t going to be. But I feel so fortunate that we’re able to stay open, pay the bills, and stay afloat through this difficult time. And we’ll come out the other side of it."
Knucklehead even made shirts that said, “Beer is Essential,” a nod to Cuomo’s decision to allow breweries to remain open.
Like K2, all Knucklehead plans for future expansion are on hold indefinitely. The Dummers are in the process of purchasing the Ridge Road building from their landlord. Knucklehead was then going to upgrade and expand its kitchen and construct an exterior beer garden.
"I’m not sure what’s going to happen," Dummer said. "My brain was to be in this (to-go) mode for at least another month."
Other breweries might not be so lucky.
The state's oldest brewery
The Genesee Brewery has been around since 1878 and there is little doubt it will continue long after this uncertainty fades. It is on much sturdier ground after it was purchased by a Costa Rican company and work was completed on a $50 million modernization and renovation plan.
Mary Beth Popp, the brewery's vice president of corporate communications, said the decision was made early on to shutter the Genesee Brew House to the public. The Brew House serves as the public face for the country's eighth largest brewery.
Popp said the Brew House was closed, "because we made a deliberate choice not to offer take out or curbside sales that might take away business from bars, restaurants and smaller breweries struggling right now."
Staffing at the Genesee Brewery has remained consistent. The brewery is still staffed six days a week, including three shifts during the week and two on Saturdays.
Brew House employees are now working staggered shifts to prepare 400 free lunches every Wednesday to other Genesee employees across three shifts. And then this week, the Brew House launched a family-style dinner program for Genny's Rochester employees. The meals aren't available to the public.
Tuesday through Saturday, Genny employees can pre-order dinners and pick them up at the Brew House. Each dinner is priced around cost and available for $25 or less. Choices include chicken French, macaroni and cheese, lasagna, and meatloaf. Salads, crowlers of beer (priced at $4 for 32 ounces) and dessert are also available.
"It’s another way to thank our employees and support them during this time," Popp said.
Popp said about 15 people remain working full-time at the Brew House. But the shifts are staggered and food is being prepared in different area to practice safe distancing techniques.
"Remaining staff were furloughed in early April," Popp said. "We continue to offer medical, 401K and other benefits to furloughed employees."
According to Popp, Genny's overall business "remains steady" during the shutdown.
"We have bright spots in retail channels where customers can still go to purchase beer," Popp said. "However, we are obviously seeing unprecedented losses in places like bars, restaurants and arenas, due to mandated closures. Our convenience store business is also down, with people taking fewer trips."
Along with the Genny Brew House, the company has closed retail locations in Buffalo, Burlington, Vermont, and Seattle, Washington.
Legislative changes?
The shutdown brought about temporary concessions from the state Liquor Authority, allowing breweries to offer home delivery and also ship beer to customers within New York. Wineries have been able to reach consumers in this manner for years.
"Having the ability to ship and home deliver beer will certainly help them survive," said Leone at the New York Brewers Association. "We are trying to keep breweries hopeful but also trying to be realistic that things may not go back to 'normal' until 2021."
Leone said he hopes these practices become permanent, especially since there is no telling how long the shutdown will last and no guarantee customers will return to taprooms once it is lifted.
"This was not something that any of them had experience doing, but they have all adapted quickly and are selling beer through all of those new channels today," Leone said. "The consumer seems to have embraced this new way of getting their favorite craft beer as well, so we may have to find a way to make this legal in New York state moving forward for all breweries in order to help them survive long term."
Contact Will Cleveland at wcleveland@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @willcleveland13, Facebook @willcleveland13, and Instagram @clevelandroc. This coverage is only possible with support from our readers. Sign up today for a digital subscription.
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