USA, FL: South Florida craft breweries reaching to governor for help
South Florida craft breweries are reaching out to Gov. Ron DeSantis for help. They say if they can't open up their tap rooms soon and start selling to restaurants, they are going under, WPLG Local 10 reported on July 22.
About 100 microbreweries across the state are desperate to save their suds.
Yonathan Ghersi, the owner of 26 Degree Brewing in Pompano Beach, said he feels as if businesses like his have been singled out.
His business is a 21,000 square foot brewery with a tap room.
Last week, he furloughed 7 people. " . . . Front of house and back of house. Our brewery production team has also taken salary cuts."
Breweries that arent licensed to serve food are not allowed to open since COVID-19 shutdowns, but restaurants with bars are?
What is the difference between having a plate of fries next to your beer or just having a beer at your table? Does the plate of fries automatically make it that you cant catch COVID? Ghersi asked.
In an open letter to DeSantis and Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) Secretary Halsey Beshears posted on Facebook, the Florida Brewers Guild (FBG) said restricting operations to to-go only is unsustainable for the states 320 brew pubs.
"We need your help. The entire Florida Craft Brewing Industry is now in jeopardy. . . The vast majority of over 320 small businesses represents 10,000 jobs."
E-malt.com, the global information source for the brewing and malting industry professionals. The bi-weekly E-malt.com Newsletters feature latest industry news, statistics in graphs and tables, world barley and malt prices, and other relevant information. Click here to get full access to E-malt.com. If you are a Castle Malting client, you can get free access to E-malt.com website and publications. Contact us for more information at marketing@castlemalting.com .