Let me start by first thanking all of you who reached out, either privately or publicly, to show your support for our 2-year old brewery and the impossible decisions we are being faced with that need to balance our ability to survive as a business entering our 19th month of covid influenced or restricted operations, with the social responsibility we have to you, our beer family!
It has without a doubt, been the challenge of our lives.
But each kind word of understanding from you was the fuel we needed to dig in and create a plan that was responsible, practical and wrapped in our core values of always welcoming EVERY SINGLE PERSON into Hub Town, without fear of judgement.
In the process of creating our "plan" during these very trying times, we asked ourselves four questions over and over, because these questions were at the core of what was most important to Hub Town:
Is our plan safe, or does it put our beer family at risk?
Is our plan inclusive, or does it exclude portions of our beer family?
Is our plan judgmental, or are withholding judgement in favour of understanding that we all have our own ideas about the world (i.e. religion...politics...vaccines)?
Is our plan going to result in Hub Town surviving to live another day?
We know that offering a safe environment for you to enjoy your beers in, is and has always been a priority for us since this all began 19 months ago...and really since we opened our doors 24 months ago.
We also know that who we are as a company is more than a "beer stop." We are a place where everyone feels like they belong. We are where you celebrate your graduations, birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, and all the other special moments!
Everything we do begins with kindness as our guiding light...and not because it's the "trendy" thing to do. We want everyone who walks through our doors to know they are our tribe...no matter what.
And we also know that if we aren't open and operational...there will be no Hub Town.
With all of that in mind, we talked A LOT...to each other, to our crew, to you, to our family and friends...to anyone that would listen...and we think we've come up with a way to make this work for all of us!
Now, you may have noticed that we have a lot more space now than we did 19 months ago...in fact we have nearly 300 seats that are almost split 50/50 inside vs outside. And our plan depends on ALL of those seats, so starting on Tuesday, September 21st here is what you can expect:
FIRST, IF YOU ARE...SICK
we know you will stay home and take care of yourself so that you don't bring something to your beer family that could hurt them or shut us down. Remember, we can always deliver!
SECOND, IF YOU ARE...FRUSTRATED
we get it...we are frustrated too. But our team is amazing, and their whole goal is to make sure that you have the best beer experience ever (whether you're inside or out), so we know you will have their backs and keep them safe from those who may see fit to take their frustrations out on them. We are all Beer Family after all!
THIRD, IF YOU ARE...
Picking up beer or merch to take home;
Staying to enjoy your beer on one of our TWO GIANT PATIOS with combined seating of approx. 150 seats (which you have spent a LOT of time on over the past 19 months) complete with heaters, fires and an excuse to cuddle;
Planning to attend any of our OUTDOOR EVENTS; or
Picking up your online order;
You ARE NOT required to show:
Proof of vaccination
Proof of a medical exemption
Proof of a negative PCR or Rapid Antigen Test
Proof of natural immunity
You will however need to respect the provincial guidelines for masking when you aren't seated and if you're able to wear one.
NOTE: our patios will be subject to "alcohol service limitations" which means last call must be no later than 10pm and closure of those areas by 11pm. And because we are just happy to be able to have you here, we're good with the minimal operational disruption...it's well worth it!
FOURTH, IF YOU ARE...
Staying to enjoy your beers in one of our TWO COZY TAPROOMS with combined seating of approx. 140 seats, or
Planning to attend any of our in-house events
You WILL be required to show one of the following:
Proof of vaccination (in whatever form you have it)
Proof of a medical exemption
Proof of a negative PCR or Rapid Antigen Test
Proof of natural immunity
Simply have one of these ready for review when we take your order...easy peasy.
NOTE: we are not equipped to accept any government QR Codes at this time nor are we obliged to have your medical data on our personal phones so please bring in a photo of your records or the actual record itself.
AND FINALLY, IF YOU ARE....sick and tired of all these rules, and instead plan to stay home and isolate from the crazy world we are currently living in...
We will be DELIVERING YOUR ONLINE BEER ORDERS FOR FREE, until the world gets back to normal and we can invite all of you in to have beers together once again, because we know YOU NEED A BREAK from all this too!
NOTE: this includes Okotoks, High River, Black Diamond, Turner Valley and everywhere in between IMMEDIATELY.
Calgary and surrounding towns will be added to specific days so watch for it!
So there you have it...a plan that encompasses ALL of our beer family in one way or another!! It's not perfect but it's better than closing our doors.
And so you know...in the meantime, we are working on creating more local collaborations with the other hospitality businesses in Okotoks to find ways of supporting them like, "Beer PHO Tuesday" where Pho Hoai Vietnamese will feed everyone in the house! We are doing it because they will be shutting down to in house service based on the new restrictions and we NEED TO HELP THEM SURVIVE!
So stay tuned because you are going to be needed more than you realize!
Also, if we haven't said it lately...thank you for being there for us. We know these times are tough, but if there's anyone we know we can get through this with, it's you!