Bars struggle to survive pandemic

To-go cocktails become a reality during the pandemic for Jimmy the Bartender.
{Contributed photo/Jimmy the Bartender}

St. Patrick’s Day is typically a big night for bars everywhere, but on the morning of March 17, 2020, N.C. Gov. Roy Cooper signed an executive order closing those establishments at 5 p.m. that very day.

Now, a little more than a year later, many bars are struggling to remain open with limited capacity while others have closed for good.

Mandy Barker, owner of 2nd & Main, a bar located at 115 N. Main St. in Lexington, said the lockdown order couldn’t have come at a worse time. That was supposed to be her first day of business.

“I was shocked,” she said, noting she had only received her ABC license to operate in late January 2020.

In May 2020, the governor allowed the reopening of tasting rooms in wineries, breweries, cideries and distilleries at 50 percent capacity, which was changed to 75 percent capacity indoors and 100 percent outdoors on March 26 of this year. 

But the phased reopenings of these businesses didn’t include bars until February 2021, when they were allowed to reopen at 30 percent capacity indoors and sales were allowed up to 11 p.m. On March 26, another executive order allowed bars to operate at 50 percent capacity indoors and the 11 p.m. curfew for on-site alcohol consumption was lifted.

Even though capacity and operating hours have recently been loosened for bars, Barker said the N.C. Bar Owners Association has contended bars have been treated unfairly.

“That’s been our thing all along — we haven’t been treated equally,” she opined, noting people gravitated to wineries and breweries when bars were closed and under more severe restrictions. “We just wanted to be treated the same. I’m all about everybody getting a piece of the pie.”

Jimmy the Bartender creates drinks using various ingredients including whiskey, honey and lemon.
{Contributed photo/Jimmy the Bartender}

Jimmy Huynh, the award-winning bartender at Jimmy’s Bar, which is on the second floor of Shoto Japanese Steakhouse and Seafood at 17 N. Main St. in Lexington, said he also felt bars were being singled out for restrictions but he decided to get creative.

As soon as he had to close the bar in March of last year, Huynh began concocting mixers for his signature cocktails that customers could buy and blend with their own liquor at home. For example, he made a mix for “Sex on the Closed Beach,” which included pureed peaches, cranberry juice, freshly pressed lemons and cane syrup that could be added to vodka.

“I felt like I had to do something to stay relevant,” he noted.

When Cooper signed another executive order mere days before Christmas 2020 to allow sales of to-go cocktails to offer some relief to bars, Huynh invested in a sealing machine to bottle his cocktails. He explained bartenders couldn’t simply put cocktails in to-go cups because that violates open container laws.

“It turned out to be a good investment and very beneficial for us,” he added.

When life hands you lemons, you make lemonade and mango mania, Huynh said of one of his many signature drinks.

Since the capacity restrictions have recently been lifted somewhat, customers are returning to Jimmy’s in person on Friday and Saturday nights, the only time the establishment is open. But the size of the bar keeps that number limited so Huynh hopes bars will continue to be allowed to sell to-go cocktails because customers like the idea of taking them home.

“It has been kind of an uphill battle,” he lamented, adding that the configuration of the restaurant is considerably limited for indoor dining as well and takeout has become a bigger part of that business.

“But the community has supported us and I really appreciate their help,” Huynh offered. “It’s like we’ve been in a really bad storm and we’re just trying to be safe until it’s over.”