For many bars, Christmas could be the last call

Now, bars that remain open rely on the critical holiday season to generate enough revenue to keep their doors open. But the cold weather, in addition to a plot of constraints, make this effort almost impossible for many of them.

Typically, at this time of year, Joe Robinson handed out a drink called “Fa la la la la la la la” with a lighted sweatshirt at his island-themed bar in Detroit, The Skip.

“It’s literally crazy,” he said. “People wait in the cold in Detroit for over an hour to get into this bar.”

This year, however, the bar itself barely runs out and serves cocktails bottled with a cane, garnish and umbrella that fans can order online.

The bar industry is a fraction of the size of the restaurant industry, but has borne a higher percentage of closures, according to the Yelp business review website and research firm Datassential.

Many non-food bars have been completely restricted to customers; some have closed or maintained a string of revenue derived from exit cocktails.

“Bars have less leverage than restaurants,” said Mark Brandau, an analyst at Datassential.

The bar industry, which generated $ 19.9 billion in sales in 2019, according to the American Night Association trade group, is nearing a month of its most critical season and not doing well. Bars are usually filled seven days a week with holiday schedules and workplace meetings, which generates twice or three times their regular income, according to the United States Bartenders’ Guild, a nonprofit organization that represents the bartenders.

Now, as major cities like New York, Los Angeles and Chicago revert to some sort of blockade, future partygoers find it easier and more affordable to drink at home.

In the U.S., online alcohol sales have risen, according to the IWSR, a data company that analyzes the alcohol market. According to IWSR, e-commerce alcohol sales in the U.S. will reach $ 5.6 billion in 2020, up from $ 3 billion last year, with 44% of e-alcohol buyers starting to buy alcohol online in 2020.

“This is the worst crisis the industry has affected since the ban,” said Aaron Gregory Smith, executive director of the U.S. Waiters Guild.

Some bars that remain open in more enclosed areas use strategically placed Christmas trees for social distancing, 6-foot spacing on sidewalks, and capacity restrictions.

Meanwhile, in less restrictive states, some bars are allowed to operate at 100% of capacity indoors, but many still experience revenue successes derived from social distancing requirements that allow customers to sit and avoid crowds.

Florida, for example, has left most restrictions to the discretion of bar owners. Jarrett Sabatini, owner of the Intermezzo coffee and cocktail bar in St. Petersburg, said he hopes to break this year with the increase in holidays. Never before had geographical location, in terms of climate and local constraints, played such an important role in the economic destiny of each bar, bar owners said.

In New York City, Greg Boehm owns two popular Christmas-themed pop-up bar franchises – Miracle and Sippin ‘Santa – which typically host more than 100 independent bars across the country each year. He said budgets and planning have been an issue this year for its operators; some have closed permanently, others temporarily.

“This year was a waiting game,” he said, “with locations to find out if they can open, how they can open, if there can be propane heaters or there are no propane heaters.” Some are big, some are small, some are on the roof, some are in the basement ”.

For major cities, the devastation of the bar industry is hurting local government budgets already depleted by the impact of Covid-19. The average cost to purchase a liquor license in the U.S. is $ 4,500, according to the American Nightlife Association, money that goes directly to local coffers. As bars close their doors, less dollars are expected to come in from liquor licenses.

Max Overstrom-Coleman, 41, opened Wolf Tree, a 24-seat craft cocktail bar in White River Junction, Vt., In November 2019. The Manhattan native, who grew up splitting his time between New York and Vermont , moved permanently to Vermont a decade ago for a doctorate. But he never returned to school, but spent years working at local distilleries and traveling internationally to meet artisan cocktails.

Last year, he finally rented a small space, installed new cables and pipes, and opened the 700-square-foot bar. “The only thing that could have been a worse idea was a kiss stand,” he said.

He said two nearby theaters remain empty, decimating the pre- and post-show crowd. “There are 300 people a night who are no longer in the city.”

He described his financial situation as “terrible”. It lost 50% of sales when the pandemic began and another 50% after the most recent November 13 shutdown. Not only is your business on the line, but like many small, independent operators, so are your accounts and personal assets. .

Many independent bar and restaurant owners are forced to pledge their own wealth and personal assets to obtain bank loans, said Edward Webb, a partner at BPM Partners, an advisory firm.

Kathleen Anderson, 47, and about 20 other women used to fill local bars in Watertown, Massachusetts, to make a holiday trail each year. They usually spent $ 500 at the first bar, he said, and after that “it gets diffuse”.

“It was all just wearing horrible, ridiculous Christmas clothes and hats and things that blinked,” she said. “We were a gang of screaming mothers.”

This year, he said, the crew is talking about a Zoom party and maybe some wine at home.

Write to Julie Wernau to [email protected]