6 Months Into Pandemic, A Local Brewer Adapts To Constant Changes

MARLBOROUGH, MA — On a cold, steel-gray afternoon six months ago, Melynda Gallagher was turning over the bar stools inside the Lost Shoe Brewing and Roasting Company in downtown Marlborough.

It was March 17, the day Gov. Charlie Baker ordered most nonessential businesses to close due to the quickly worsening coronavirus pandemic. It was also the first of many shifts for Gallagher and her husband, J.P., and their staff as they entered a period when their health and their livelihood were constantly at risk.

Now, Lost Shoe and bars and restaurants across the state are preparing to take a step toward normalcy. On Monday, the state will allow restaurants to seat 10 people at indoor and outdoor tables, up from six. And, people will be allowed to sit at bars to eat meals under a few restrictions.

This week, Gallagher reflected on the past six months, describing how she and J.P. were able to survive with help from loyal customers, new technology and local government.

"As things have kind of started to reopen, we're just adapting and being flexible," she said. "Things are changing constantly."

On March 17, J.P. Gallagher was in Lost Shoe's brewing room cooking up a batch of New England IPA. He picked that type because it sells well. As the full shutdown took hold, the brewery stuck to that plan.

"We always had a wide range of styles," Melynda Gallagher said. "But as we started to focus, we've brewed more New England IPAs and sour beers than in any prior year."

Step two was making it easy for customers to buy the product. Gallagher set up an online ordering system in March with curbside delivery. Lost Shoe is also a coffee roaster, and customers were able to place orders and pick up their coffee at a table outside the front door. Going on a beer run became its own kind of adventure for customers during the pandemic, she said.

The state allowed brewers and other businesses to open with outdoor seating in June. With help from the city of Marlborough, Lost Shoe was able to set up seating in a few parking spots across the street from the main taproom. They also have a few seats out front for customers.

"[Marlborough] actually came to us and asked what we wanted to do for seating," she said.

But it's a fraction of what they had before. Between outdoor and indoor tables, they have room for 24 people. Before the pandemic it was 120. But adding the taproom service and the can sales, Lost Shoe is actually brewing more beer today than before the pandemic. Lost Shoe also started brewing hard seltzer — an ultra-popular category that everyone from Coca-Cola to Budweiser is getting into.

The extra canning has also led to new partnerships. You can now find Lost Shoe for sale at beer and liquor stores in Newton, Westford, Hudson, Northborough, Westborough and at Vin Bin locations. They're also on tap now at the Marlborough Country Club.

"Our distribution is very limited, but has expanded over the last couple of months," she said.

The state threw breweries and wineries a curveball in August, mandating that alcohol must be served with an adequate meal. The reason: health officials feared people with empty stomachs getting tipsy and letting their social distancing guard down.

Lost Shoe already sold snacks like soft pretzels and pastries, but the brewery encourages patrons to obey the state guideline by buying food at a local restaurant. They've also had food trucks visit. It's one way they can help other local businesses, she said.

The table service increase coming Monday will allow Lost Shoe to seat a few more people indoors and outdoors (the bar doesn't have enough room to be able to seat customers safely), but that also comes with a downside. More people indoors means a riskier health environment for everyone — and Marlborough just joined the state's list of high-risk communities for coronavirus cases.

There's also the approaching winter. Gallagher thinks most people won't want to sit outside when it's 28 degrees and possibly snowing, and they may not want to risk sitting indoors, either.

In preparation, she's exploring heat lamps for outside, and planning interactive online activities like beer tastings in case the state shuts down again. For her, flexibility is the biggest lesson of the pandemic. Planning too far ahead doesn't always work due to how quickly the environment shifts.

"I think it's important for the community to understand how important it's going to be to support these local restaurants and breweries and business," she said. "Going into these next few months is going to be very challenging, and everyone is going to need support."