Proof Artisan Distillers: Community

One of the industries hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic was hospitality businesses. From restaurants to bars and even hotels, Fargo-Moorhead faced a massive shut down at the height of the pandemic. This left many local businesses scrambling to figure out what to do. For restaurants, it was offering take out services for citizens looking to enjoy their favorite local bite. The local breweries opted to continue to sell off-sale through many of their taproom locations. While those options were only temporary solutions to large problems, it did provide an avenue of sustainability for local hospitality businesses.

Proof Artisan Distillers has been a landmark in our community since opening in 2015. Their homespun spirits have not only captivated our community but have also made their way around the country as well.

How Can You Support Proof?

You can purchase Proof's awardwinning spirits like 2 Docks Vodka, Minions Gin, Glen Fargo Whiskey and Crooked Furrow Bourbon at their location at 414 4th Avenue North in Fargo (off sale only). Spirits can also be found across the state of North Dakota at your preferred liquor store.

Proof's homemade hand sanitizer can also be purchased at their location and it can be found at various establishments around Fargo-Moorhead. Hand sanitizer may also be purchased online.

For more info, visit proofdistillers.com.

This is evident in the numerous national awards Proof has discusses Proof's accrued throughout their history. approach throughout the pandemic and how So when their tasting room was no longer able to churn it has impacted their out phenomenal cocktails for eager patrons due to business. COVID-19, they had to find some kind of solution. While they would still be able to sell their spirits off sale at How has your business their location and at liquor stores around the area, the changed throughout the folks at Proof needed to adapt. COVID-19 pandemic?

This came in the form of off sale of a different kind. We temporarily switched our With the tools to make hand sanitizer at their production from spirits to hand location, Proof gained the ability to make their sanitizer for several months. We own sanitizer from the federal government. have chosen to remain open for Not only did it fill a necessary need in our hand sanitizer and off sale purchases community and state, but it also aided through the summer and will decide those businesses who needed to stay what to do this fall in regards to opening open during the pandemic. Now, Proof's the tasting room back up. hand sanitizer can be found across our community and beyond. Proof opted to make hand sanitizer and release it throughout the community. What Yet, they do not feel deserving of our were the underpinnings of that decision? thanks or praise. To the fine folks at Proof, it was doing something We got the OK from the federal government to help North Dakota. In that to start producing hand sanitizer as long as it sense, producing their own was in accordance with the W.H.O. (World Health hand sanitizer was an obvious Organization) on March 19. We flipped the next day decision to make despite to making hand sanitizer. In the days following that, it altering their business we were contacted by agencies mandated to stay in model. operation that was in need of hand sanitizer with nowhere to find it except through us. It just made sense to us to Proof's Director of switch our production to help keep critical-need employees Sales Lexi Aho as well as our community safe.

How did the COVID-19 pandemic impact the actual distilling process? Secondly, how did it impact your sales and distributing chain?

We had to temporarily shut down the distilling of our awardwinning spirits to focus on the production of our hand sanitizer. Luckily, when the bars and restaurants were mandated to shut down their dining rooms, the liquor stores got busy. Our distributors kept selling our spirits. We had enough inventory of our spirits to keep us going. That being said, we are still well under our normal sales numbers for the year.

What is the biggest challenge Proof has faced during the COVID-19 pandemic?

The slowing of our sales has been one of the biggest challenges Proof Artisan Distillers has faced during this pandemic. Proof Artisan Distillers rely heavily on our outside sales for our success. When the bars, restaurants, hotels and other hospitality industries closed down we saw a large drop in our sales. Thankfully, with these locations opening back up we are starting to see a steady increase in sales. We thank everyone who supports local businesses at this time to help keep doors open and people employed.

As North Dakota experienced a "soft opening" a few months back, do you believe Fargo has gone back to some semblance of normalcy?

In some ways yes, we have reached some semblance of normalcy or what normal is going to look like moving forward. The hospitality industry is still hurting quite badly and has quite a long recovery ahead of it to make it back to "normal".

Why is adaptation and "rolling with the punches" so vital to the success of a business like Proof?

In this case, we were one of the few businesses in the area that could step up in the hand sanitizer production to help our community at the beginning of the pandemic. We had the equipment to distill and make the hand sanitizer following the W.H.O. (World Health Organization) guidelines.

How has Proof "bounced back" from the original wave of COVID-19?

We have been able to shift our focus back from hand sanitizer to our spirits which is what we are all about. We are now back to planning events for this fall and looking forward to getting back to "normal".

We are not out of the COVID-19 woods yet. How does Proof remain diligent in making sure customers, staff and the community is safe, healthy and smart during this time?

We have not opened our tasting room for cocktails yet. However, we are talking about later this fall to opening back up. We remain open for off-sale and hand sanitizer sales. We are using our hand sanitizer to keep us and the community safe. When you enter Proof Artisan Distillers' tasting room please use the hand sanitizer by the door and keep a safe distance between you and any other customers who may be in there.

As for cocktails please feel free to swing by your favorite bar or restaurant and ask about any of our award-winning spirits. We are here to support and keep our community safe during these uncertain times.

Take Care of Business

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By Marisa Jackels Photos courtesy of GoodBulb

Amidst the darkness of a global pandemic, people found creative ways to shine some light — in this case, literally.

s the pandemic took hold in early March, lighting up buildings in blue and green took on a new significance. The #LightItBlue campaign saw historic landmarks such as the Seattle space needle, Los Angeles Coliseum, Niagara Falls in New York, and over 400 other venues light up in blue in a nationwide show of support for healthcare and other frontline workers.

Green light, known as the color of compassion, was used as a way to honor the victims of COVID-19; most noticeably in Kentucky, where Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear regularly shares photos of landmarks and residents’ homes shining in green.

“Light has long been used as a way to show support for causes you care about in a bold, bright way,” said GoodBulb founder, Tom Enright. “As a lighting company, we love any opportunity to use light in a way that makes a positive impact.” As more and more people began purchasing blue and green lightbulbs to show their support, Tom and the GoodBulb team saw an opportunity to provide support for those impacted by COVID-19. They announced that proceeds from their green and blue lightbulbs, which saw an uptick in sales due to the campaigns, would support COVID-19 relief efforts.

“Our mission is to offer good savings, support good causes, and provide good education,” Enright said. “In the midst of a pandemic, it is a privilege to continue supporting good causes as we battle COVID-19 together.”

GoodBulb chose to support Convoy of Hope, a non-profit with a goal to provide 10 million meals to families across America that have been hit hardest by COVID-19. At the end of May, GoodBulb announced their donation of $2,500 to Convoy of Hope.

“We are incredibly grateful for your desire to stand with us,” wrote Sarah Spickard, Corporate Relations Project Manager at Convoy of Hope. “We are only able to make a difference because of partners like you.” For Enright and the team at GoodBulb, it’s a part of being ‘more than a lightbulb company,’ he says. In addition to supporting COVID-19 relief efforts and community causes, the company regularly uses its lightbulb proceeds to provide solar lanterns to families who live without electricity around the world.

“The root of our mission at GoodBulb is the mantra Be Good — the idea that we each have the power to make a positive impact in the world. This is the reason why we choose to give back, to support our local Fargo-Moorhead community, to provide solar lights to families who live without electricity, and, today, to support COVID-19 relief efforts,” Enright said. “This is all a part of living out that mission to Be Good.”