Lindsey Clements - Vis Major Brewing Co.

March 25, 2020 © Right Here, Right Now.

I’m starting to feel better. I mean, that first week they announced all the closures or suspensions of the big events, for me, that was a big wake up call of like okay, we really have a crisis at our doorstep. And we started to talk to staff and implemented additional cleaning regiments to what we already did and that Friday because it was on Thursday that it was announced I believe, and on that Friday there was not an empty seat in our bar. I was in this really weird place that day because, on one hand, I was like I know I should be grateful for everybody showing up and wanting to continue to support our business but I'm worried about our ability to protect ourselves and protect our customers and our staff. And it was frustrating because we had customers sitting at tables before we had a chance to clean them and we on our side of the aisle cannot do it alone like we need other people to help us protect everyone. And Saturday was another busy day with big groups of people and Sunday I had a full-blown anxiety attack because I was so distraught over like how to, what my role is in this pandemic of staying open and receiving customers. And it's challenging because with our business it's so community-centric. So it’s this safe space for a lot of our customers that feel comfortable and confident and relaxed when they come into our taproom.

So it’s a huge compliment to us that people are wanting to come out and support us, but I felt like I couldn't’ make that decision alone. So when they came out with the restrictions with how many people could be in a community space, for me, it was a big relief. I felt I was able to protect myself and my staff more efficiently and successfully that way. So what’s going on in the back of my mind, knowing how this virus works and the way it attacks the respiratory system…I watched my mom die of lung disease, so that’s what scares me is knowing what that looks like and being fearful of my own sake, I don’t want that to be my…I’m scared that like, because of my mom's disease, will I too be more susceptible if I were to contract this to having a major response and um…so that’s what has been really challenging for me. But I have this responsibility to my staff. So we do these daily check-ins and making sure that everybody is feeling comfortable with working, everyone has been healthy and not having any symptoms. We have been fortunate enough that our customers have been just really showing up for us. We’re doing a pay it forward with a discount for our Crowlers for customers so we’re discounting the Crowlers by two dollars and then they have an option if they want to donate one or two dollars of that discount towards our staff and then Vis Major is matching that. Because didn’t know how long we could stay open so it was like, okay how can I continue to support our staff so that was something we came up with and people have been incredibly generous. We even had a customer get teary-eyed coming in just like missing being able to be in the space. Again, it's just a reflection of what we’ve been able to build here, and being the living room of our neighborhood is what I like to call it.

I was fortunate enough to have two staff members that we were able to sit down and talk about how we could pivot our business model. So, Sam Mines, she created our online ordering and got our website nice and up to date because it hadn’t been updated for a minute. And Cassie, you know we’ve worked with her in terms of how to schedule. So we started doing delivery, and we had started off with just To- Go, and that’s where primarily our business is focused right now is to-go so we do online orderings or over the phone, that way it’s an easy pick up for people to just pop in, give us their name, we had it off and they’re on their way.

We often take a minute or two to chat when customers come in for carryout. And a lot of them are really worried about our business and staff which is really endearing. I mean it’s kind of a quick conversation of like “ We’re staying busy, we’re doing well, we’re being supported, we’re going to be able to get through this”.

It’s forcing a lot of people to have to think outside of the box in terms of how they can potentially continue a revenue option. I think it’s okay to take a minute and take a few days to figure out that strategy. I personally was heavily impacted by the 2009 recession, I had just begun my career in interior design when that hit and it was really challenging because so much of my identity was tied into this idea of being a career person. So it forced me to kind of break that mindset and perception of myself and I had to look outside of myself to find a pathway forward. I think the hardest part for everybody right now is finding a sense of control because with everything changing every single day and not knowing how long this is going to last, there’s no sense of control which is really hard for so many of us restaurant owners and bar owners. The hospitality industry is such a strong foundation, so when I was laid off in 2009 that’s what I fell back on and that is what like redirected my life and put me on the pathway towards where I am now. So it’s really going to force people to have to shift there mindset, but that doesn’t have to happen immediately. I mean, I think what is happening is that we are all going through this shock but also a grieving process of like, how do we move forward. And that’s similar to how I felt back in 2009. It took me months to get through the depression of losing my job. So many of us are feeling that depression right now, and that’s okay. I think it’s really important to stay in touch with those that support you and just know that we’re going to get on the other side of this and it might not look like it did before and that’s okay but we’re going to evolve. And for some of us, it’s going to be for the better. I mean, 'cause that’s how I felt. In retrospect, I was glad I lost my job in 2009 because it forced me on this new direction that has led me to where I am now. I know that we’re not at a place where we can see that but I’m hopeful that a lot of people are going to begin shifting their way of thinking where it’s not just about themselves and that it’s about the community and how we can rally together.

I think that we’re all going to come out of this feeling more grateful for each other. My staff and I have already started talking about how when things get back open we’re going to be so busy. Right now you have to just kind of take it a day at a time and focus on what you can control and just try to face each challenge. That’s how I kind of approached opening my business. When we were getting towards our opening date I was so overwhelmed. This is a silly metaphor but how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. So that’s how I had to approach opening this, there is only so much you can do within each day and I had to be really patient with myself and I had to tell myself at first this is going to be really hard but eventually I’m going to get better at this. And that’s okay for it to be a struggle at first. And that’s kind of how we kind of have approached this, shifting to deliveries, like okay, at first this is going to be really challenging but then we’re going to get a few days under us and that’s going to become our new normal.

I feel like this is going to change our industry in significant ways. And for us I look at it as an opportunity to…we always toyed around with the idea of doing delivery but it never seemed like something feasible that we can accomplish. Now we’re forced to figure it out and so once things get back open we’re going to be able to potentially continue that and expand our business in that regard.

For me right now I feel more optimistic than pessimistic about our situation and I know not everybody has that luxury. My fear and my anxiety is more about our health and protecting that. I really think that we are all resilient people in our industry. It takes a lot of risks to open a business and this is something nobody could have ever foreseen. How do you even wrap your head around this? We’ve never seen anything like this. It's dumbfounding honestly and that’s okay to just take it a day at a time and that’s how we are approaching it and that would be my advice for people that are struggling right now. It’s really hard to find focus, but lean on others…that’s what I’ve been lucky enough to do. I have staff that I can lean on to fill in where my weaknesses are. Like, the updating of our website, it is not a strength of mine, but it’s Sam’s and I’ve been able to employ her to help bring us up current on our website and expand our offerings through that. So that would be my advice to those that are operating and trying to navigate. We’ve got a great community of people. I’ve seen a lot of restaurant and bar owners reaching out to each other asking for advice on how to navigate these things, but if you have staff, utilize their strengths right now.

Josh - Where does your strength come from during this time?

I’m getting a lot of strength just from the encouragement from our customers. To see them rally behind us and to see their loyalty to us is what is encouraging me the most. And therapy. (Laughs).

The reason why we decided to close on Sundays because I just need a day to not think about it. To not think about what I’m going to do, and just focus on having time with my family because it’s just too much. Tom hasn’t been able to slow down at all. For us there hasn’t been an opportunity for us to really rest, we have had to be in constant response…The thing that I’ve really struggled with is forecast…like think ahead…like what’s going to be next…how can I foresee? And that’s just not a real thing. I think a lot of us in the industry are really hard on ourselves. Pretty self-critical. In my last therapy session before this hit was about finding affirmations for myself and loving myself at where I’m at, those kinds of things are what I’m working on. So I have therapy later today (Laughs) So I have a lot more…I can’t wait to see what she will challenge me to do. I mean that's the problem. When’ we’re in a point of crisis like this there is very little time to take care of yourself, you just have to always be on. And that’s exhausting and it’s not very sustainable. But again, because our industry is so demanding we are kind of accustomed to a little bit of this high-stress mentality. So I feel like if anybody can handle this, our industry is capable of doing that. I mean there will be casualties within our industry. Not just from the virus but also the economic impact.

Josh - How are you navigating through all of this as a mother?

Again, going back to not being too self-critical. I thought it was very endearing (Laughs), so many peoples initial responses of like “This is going to be our new homeschooling schedule”, When these well-intended individuals are still having to do their own work at home, so yeah, for me its a lot of like, just trying to be realistic to what we can accomplish with each day. The hardest thing for me is that Piper is the only child. And so, she doesn’t have a playmate built into her family. So that’s what I feel for here, but maybe those other families are like “they’re fighting like cats and dogs” so you know, maybe its a lot more peaceful at our house (Laughs). But we’ve had a lot of fun as a family spending more time together whether its something simple like watching a show together or playing UNO. It's hard for her because her birthday is this weekend for instance and we’re not going to be able to have the same kind of birthday we had in healthy times so, it’s definitely been challenging. But she’s such a smart kid and she’s such a good kid so it makes my job a lot easier in that sense.

Josh - Even though she is sitting on your lap right now if Piper could hear this recording later on when she’s older

what would you want to say to her?

I guess as a parent in general we want to inspire our kids and be something that they can look up to. I mean she gets dragged to the brewery on a regular basis and doesn’t have like the same playtime that other families with multiple kids have, but I hope she recognizes that her mom and dad work really hard, but we also love what we do. And that’s something that I hope she aspires to find that path for herself someday. And that mom and dad are doing the best we can, it’s all that we can do. (Looks at her daughter Piper who is sitting on her lap) Are we doing okay kiddo? Do you think we’re doing okay? (Piper smiles and nods “yes” and hugs her)…Good (Both Smile)

This is going to shape all of our lives, this is going to be a year that none of us forget.