It's Been a Long Time

Wow, it's been a ling time since I have been able to sit down and write a blog post- 6 months to be exact. If I can be honest it hasn't felt like May was 6 months ago! I am not even sure where to begin... the summer of Covid has been a roaring dragon and some days right now, it doesn't feel like there is an end in sight. Every Friday afternoon I grab my phone to see if our County is being moved to a new covid level and I cross my fingers that if we are it's to a better one. Thankfully this week we stayed and were not moved, which in itself is good and bad, but lets not dwell on the present!

Let's go back a few months- June 11th patio's were able to open in most parts of the Province, and man it was not easy preparing for that day. This was no regular patio opening- all tables/chairs had to be 6 feet from each other, additional sanitizing had to be done, and well it had to look amazing cause lets face it; we were all competing with every establishment in our towns. I remember while prepping for this day, trying to figure out how to put a roof on the patio just in case it rained as we still were not allowed to sit inside at this point. Well about 65 hrs in 3 days and our "first go" at patio season 2020 was ready! We ripped out bushes, used flat rocks we found in the back yard and built a stage (which we didn't get to use) and we were ready for our customers!

After 2 weeks of this pretty patio we quickly learned that it was just not big enough. A few weeks prior to this we had been standing in the very back of our yard on the other side of the rear fence talking about how one day in our 5 year plan we were going to turn this "jungle" into an additional patio. Well, that one day came 2 weeks later and it was the best decision we ever made!

As the summer went on things were good, ok, crappy, terrible, better and well just about everything in between. Remember, in my into blog I told you this would a behind the scenes to all the stuff you normally would never hear about!!! Summer in Bayfield is typically booming! It's busy every day, local businesses are making profits, and tourism is high. This summer was different; very different. Tourism was scary on every aspect for the majority of the Province, the town was not busy as we were used to, and no one knew what each day would bring.

Businesses were given regulations to follow, they would change weekly and sometimes even daily. Customers would be patient and kind, and unfortunately some customers were neither of those things. Our staff were brought to laughter and sometimes even tears and had to endure some very terrible attitudes and actions.

We all worked very long hours and sometimes went 10 days before getting a day off due to hiring troubles. We had to find creative ways to bring in business to our patios while still having ways to serve those were still not fully comfortable dining out. Needless to say; this was one of the toughest experiences I have ever had in my professional life, and I would think I am not alone in this thought.

On behalf of every staff member, and owner of Bayfield Brewing Co. we would like to thank you for all of your support, patience, and kind words that you have provided us with since March. We are blessed to have had such great people come through our doors! We look forward to continue providing you with delicious beer, food and amazing service!

Sincerely,

The Bayfield Brewing Co. Team