Bobby Mullins is owner of Armadillo Brewing Company in Denton, Texas.
“The business during this second shut down has been significantly worse than the first one,” owner Bobby Mullins said.
The shuttering of bars under the COVID-19 restrictions by Governor Greg Abbott has also impact the craft beer brewing industry.
“In addition to our onsite tap room we sell our beer out throughout the state,” Mullins said. “But when everything got shutdown we lost about 60 percent of our customers because they were all forced to close as well.”
Mullins doesn’t think breweries should be lumped in with the bar closures. He says they already follow strict sanitation guidelines because of the brewing process.
But since they are under the same category, he’s having to make some tough decisions.
“Now it’s been a few weeks since then, I just had to furlough all the staff again at the beginning of the week,” Mullins said. “We are back down to doing to go only sales and it’s just been really, really bad.”
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
Mullins sits on the board of the Texas Craft Brewers Guild. According to its website, the Texas Craft Brewers Guild is a board of directors led organization that represents the interest of Texas craft brewers.
With more than 250 members they’re working hard trying to get some clarity about their future from the governor’s office.
“Our two-year anniversary was in June and we weren’t able to celebrate that which is unfortunate,” Mullins said. “It’s sad to even think that there’s a possibility that we may not be able to see the third anniversary.”
Mullins fears they will not be able to keep the taps flowing much longer.
“My business personally we’ve got, if nothing changes, we’ve got about three to four months left,” Mullins said.
According to a survey released Monday by the Texas Craft Brewers Guild, two out of every three craft breweries in the state said they won't make it through the end of 2020.
The survey also found that one in three craft brewers may have to close within three months if the current restrictions stay in place.
The guild said the best way to support craft breweries is to buy beer directly from them.
