Just in time for Father’s Day, Long Island craft breweries have taken advantage of phase two of New York State’s reopening to open outdoor areas for their taprooms.
In an informal survey, LIBeerGuide.com found that more than 30 of Long Island’s 46 craft brewery taprooms and brewpubs have opened with outdoor seating. With just a handful of exceptions, LI breweries kept busy brewing and selling beer after the shutdown of taprooms on March 16 caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Breweries quickly shifted to providing to-go service, curbside pickup, and in some cases home delivery.
Brewery owners were thrilled to welcome back patrons in person to their taprooms, while maintaining social distancing and mask-wearing rules.
“While so many of our customers kept us going throughout the shutdown by buying beer to go, it was a great feeling to finally pour some pints and see smiling faces again,” said Dan Burke, co-owner with Greg Martin of Long Ireland Beer Co. in Riverhead.
Many breweries that did not have outdoor seating at their taprooms adjusted to the phase two rules by quickly setting up small seating areas on the sidewalks outside their entrance. Bright Eye Beer Co., which opened its new taproom on Feb. 21 in downtown Long Beach, set up a small patio on the sidewalk outside the brewery. Oyster Bay Brewing in downtown Oyster Bay also set up a small sidewalk area with tables and chairs.
Other breweries located in strip malls were able to cordon off sections of their parking lots to create outdoor seating, including Old Tappan Brewing in Bayville and Saint James Brewery, which opened its new taproom in St. James on March 14 just two days before the shutdown.
Several breweries that closed either completely or for part of the shutdown have reopened, including BrewSA Brewing and Noble Savage Brewing. BrewSA Brewing, located on Freeport’s Nautical Mile, reopened on June 10 and featured live music from local band Jerry & the Newcomers on June 14. Noble Savage Brewing, which celebrated the first anniversary of its opening in downtown Glen Cove on June 1, reopened with outdoor seating on June 12 including food from Green Street Food Truck.
Phase three of reopening on Long Island is currently planned for June 24, which would allow indoor dining and drinking establishments, including brewery taprooms, to operate at 50 percent of capacity. Several craft breweries are waiting until phase three to reopen, including Po’Boy Brewery in Port Jeff Station and Small Craft Brewing in Amityville.
27A Brewing Co. in Lindenhurst is waiting for phase three to reopen its taproom, but in the meantime for Father’s Day it is teaming up with local restaurant Bakuto and bespoke men’s shaving and grooming supply shop, Holy Block Trading Co., to offer a Father’s Day take-out BBQ package that includes a crowler of 27A Brewing beer and a special after-shave for Dad from Holy Block.
A complete list of Long Island craft brewery taprooms and brewpubs is available online at libeerguide.com/brewery-tap-rooms-brewpubs.
Bernie Kilkelly is the editor and publisher of LIBeerGuide.com.
For more food and drink coverage, visit longislandpress.com/category/food-drink
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