Editor's note: This story is part of an ongoing series taking a look at how local businesses have adapted to the COVID-19 crisis. Check back regularly for more stories highlighting local businesses who have shifted to e-commerce, analysis from officials on how this has changed the local economy and more.
Burlington Beer Works is one of several local businesses forced to get creative over the last year as the COVID-19 pandemic challenged the restaurant and hospitality industries.
Among the changes the restaurant made were increasing its takeout business via online ordering, offering online purchases of ownership shares of the co-op, and keeping customers engaged online.
One of the most noticeable changes for Burlington Beer Works is the increase in takeout sales. Tracy Schmidt, general manager of the restaurant, said an online ordering feature was one of the first shifts the business made when they had to close their doors to the public.
“We didn't have a huge takeout business prior to COVID; the main source of our revenue was from dining in. Obviously, when we had to shut our doors to the public, we quickly transitioned into takeout. It seemed like a no-brainer move,” she said.
In addition to online ordering, the Burlington Beer Works website now includes a retail shop where Burlington-area residents can buy ownership shares of the co-op. While community ownership was not new to the restaurant, the online purchase is.
“You’ve always been able to buy an ownership share since we were raising capital five or six years ago. The ordering online did happen as a result of the pandemic,” Schmidt said.
These shifts to an e-commerce environment were vital in sustaining Burlington Beer Works as statewide restrictions on restaurant dining remained in place for months.
“With the support of our owners and so many owners embracing take out to support us during the first few months of COVID, (doing) takeout I think has been beneficial because we have been able to maintain a solid takeout business, even after we reopened our doors to the public,” Schmidt said.
On top of these e-commerce shifts, Burlington Beer Works sought to step up its already solid online presence.
“We’ve always had a strong social media presence. That’s one of the beautiful things about being in a co-op with almost 2,300 owners. We have a solid base of followers through both Facebook and Instagram,” Schmidt explained.
The restaurant took their online engagement even further, though, when they couldn’t connect with customers face to face.
“We did increase our presence on Google during the pandemic … (by) sharing posts through Google, adding more photos (and) making sure our menu was always updated through each platform,” she said.
“We also did some videos. One of our bartenders did some cocktail videos showing customers how to make cocktails that were guest favorites here at Burlington Beer Works and how to make them at home. We did trivia through Zoom, which presented some challenges, but it was super fun,” Schmidt added.
Schmidt said these online efforts were an attempt to “(make) use of whatever platform we had available and just really keeping our guests engaged if for nothing more than to give them a distraction from being housebound.”
The changes Burlington Beer Works made over a year ago kept them afloat during some of the most difficult months of the pandemic, but they won’t end now that restrictions have begun to ease.
“We’ll continue offering takeout. Guests have been very receptive to it,” Schmidt said. “There’s no reason to not do those things.”
The outdoor dining, which Schmidt said has been a big hit, will also continue as long as the city allows.
“We were fortunate enough that the city approved our permit to extend or premises onto Main Street on the weekend, which we do have through the end of June, and we will be going back to ask for another extension," she said. "The guests seem to enjoy the entertainment out on Main Street and to keep it active is something we are hoping to continue."
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Elizabeth Pattman is the trending topics reporter for the Times-News in Burlington, covering business, COVID-19 and all things trending. Contact Elizabeth (she/her) at epattman@gannett.com. I'm also available on social media @EPattmanTN on Twitter or @burlingtontimesnews on Instagram.
This article originally appeared on Times-News: Burlington Beer Works embraces online engagement during COVID-19
