It’s now been a year since we were forced to close our doors.
When I woke up this morning, Facebook reminded me of this post I made late at night during that first week, when we cleared out the bar and were in the midst of finding a way to save everyone’s jobs, and the company itself.
I remember taking this photo just before midnight; I had gotten up to piss and walking back to my seat - as we’ve all done so many times over the years - I was hit with emotion at the sight of our bar, completely empty. I felt alone, lost, helpless. But it’s in those moments we need to face our fears head on, and go on the attack. What I wrote that night was meant to keep me in the fight as much as it was for anyone else.
I remember not knowing what to do, and running the numbers on how long we might be able to keep going before having to make sacrifices. I also remember throwing the numbers aside, and deciding that failure - at any level - was not an option.
I’ve done a lot of reflecting this week - looking back at all the challenges our team faced to make it here - and being reminded of this post made me want to share some of it with you, since you all are a big part of it all. Re-reading what I wrote to you all back in May, this statement still accurately sums up my feelings today:
“I couldn’t be more proud to be a part of a team of people who rally, rather than run, in the face of a crisis.”
We had every reason to fold a year ago; to give up, go home, and wait for help to come. But this team didn’t; everyone showed up the next day, ready to help build whatever was needed to keep Able going.
It was tough because, in reality, we had no idea what to do. In figuring out how to survive, we realized we had to find a way to repurpose everyone’s job functions & skill sets:
For a company with only 8 employees (at the time), we have a very diverse operation here at Able: brewers, packaging, bar staff, sales and distribution; we do it all in-house. We lost the functionality of our bar and most of our sales/distro network overnight as restaurants & bars were forced to close. In theory, from a business perspective, the first move to make would be cutting the staff of both to reduce costs and hope to survive the next “three weeks” until things go back to “normal.”
The problem with that approach is it’s not a solution; it’s a bandage. Eventually, we would have to reduce brewing staff because we wouldn’t be brewing as much without an active sales effort. After enough time, we would cease to be a brewery.
So, instead, we went on the offensive. We accepted, up front, that there would be no “going back to normal.” To think otherwise was just fooling ourselves.
"Given the same amount of intelligence, timidity will do a thousand times more damage than audacity."
-General Carl von Clausewitz
As I mentioned above, we have a very diverse operation with a lot of moving parts. While this can complicate how to find and implement a solution, it also grants our operation independence: we have our own canning line, delivery vehicles, drivers & salespeople; we maintain our own inventory on-site, have complete control over our production rhythm, and have systems & processes in place to manage & sync everything. We had 6 years of experience building this independence, and this independence would be what would keep us together.
As most of you know, we decided the best way to pivot the company would be bringing beers directly to customer’s doors; a service we named Able Direct. In retrospect, it was the obvious strategy: we were already delivering beer in bulk to restaurants & retailers daily; all we had to do was adjust our order punching & invoicing system, add ecommerce to the website, then reconfigure loadouts in the vehicles for the smaller quantities. Putting it together was a big team effort, and looking back, we had fun doing it. I remember the last thing I did before launching the site, within days of being shut down, was add the Bruins/Patriots “fog horn” sound file to our new Dispatch desk computer so it would play every time a new order came in.
Then, suddenly, it took off.
I’m not exaggerating: within days we delivered over 100 orders to people’s doors. Within a month, we were well over 1000. The “fog horn” started to become a bit much, but we embraced it (it still plays in the Distro office, btw). By the end of March, we were struggling to keep up with the demand. Our drivers were here 7-days/week from morning until the last window closed at 6pm. Our Bar Staff became dispatchers, supporting the workload of our drivers by organizing routes, packing cases & maintaining the website. Note: looking back, having dispatchers was critical; delivering 4-packs to homes eats into our overall margin, and they ensured the efficiency of our work.
It’s crazy to say, but April & May 2020 are the two best sales months in Able’s history, no joke. None of our employees were laid off, no one took a pay cut, and we didn’t (and still don’t) qualify for any of the grant money issued by the govt. At the end of May, our team donated $2500 to the restaurant industry’s employee relief fund. What a stellar fucking team effort.
So yes, I’m stupid proud of this team. Nicole, Dan, Chris, Brendan, Mandy, Jim & Mike are absolute rockstars.
And this team is still going: We’re still delivering beer to your doors every day. We’ve created 2 new jobs, upgraded our ordering website (to bringthebeers.com!), invested in software to automate routing & ETA notifications (which allowed our bar staff to retire from Dispatch & reopen the bar), expanded our delivery radius, and - most importantly - we’re still having fun.
But my favorite aspect to think back on from this year has been our community; all of you. You made Able Direct a source of positivity in a very negative time, and it was contagious. You not only believed in us, tried Direct for the first time, and helped spread the word - you went out of your way to add to the positive vibes:
Corey & Trinley volunteered to be the first to test out our online ordering (and thank goodness, cause it needed help). Chef Paul brought us lunch, just about daily, from his commercial kitchen. Jordan hooked us up with free radio ads for 3 weeks to help promote Direct. Dalton & Derek kept making us fried chicken sandwiches in the loading dock at the end of long days. Eric bought cases of beer out of the tap room, then drove around giving out beer & bbq to small businesses in town. Alli ordered beer to her friends houses via Direct, and - when we ran out of friends to send beer to - ordered a case delivered to her local police department (not gonna say which, but yes they accepted it). A local business had ordered cases for a “goodbye party” on the day they had to lay everyone off, then ordered again weeks later to celebrate their ability to bring everyone back (cried a happy tear when that one came in).
There’s honestly too many of these stories to tell; I wish I could fit them all here. Just know that everything you all have contributed to the cause has not gone unnoticed, and is appreciated more than words can convey.
A year ago, we - once again - burned our ships & ventured forward into the unknown, knowing we possessed the determination to make it to the other side with a ‘W’.
Thank you for joining us on the journey; we would not have made it without you, and couldn’t ask for better teammates. Cheers to you, and to the year ahead.
