President’s Perspective

NAVIGATING THE WATERS OF COVID-19

We are halfway through 2020 and to say that it has been unusual is an understatement. In my more than 30 years of being in business, I have never seen anything quite like it. I know a lot of our members are suffering due to the pandemic and its resulting consequences. We as bar and restaurant owners have always been about the safety of our customers and our employees. We have always tried to provide the cleanest and safest places for our customers’ enjoyment. We take special classes and get special licenses to make sure that we serve safe food and run safe establishments. Yet we are being unfairly targeted as the epicenter of the new outbreaks.

It is unfair to target us as an industry for the recent spikes in COVID-19 across the state of Wisconsin. Yes, new cases of the virus are up, but so is testing and with increased testing comes more positive test results. What they are not telling you is that deaths and hospitalizations are down. They also don’t take into account that the 20- to 29-year-old age group that is coming down with the virus they say is coming from the bars could be the same people that participated in the historic protests in June and July. They also do not consider that people who frequent bars also frequent the Walmarts, Lowe’s, grocery stores and other places that are open where it is also possible to catch the virus. I think we, as an industry, have been given a bad rap.

The Tavern League is going to continue to fight for your rights as an industry and as individual owners. We are all in this together, just trying to survive and make a living to support our families. We continue to monitor the situation and do what is best for our members, whether it be legally or legislatively. We are by no means over this and out of the woods. There continues to be a lot of work to do and we are going to be at the forefront of whatever it takes for our members to survive. I speak from experience, as I am in the same boat as the rest of our membership, when I say this has been a tough time to be in business. We have had to modify our business plans and how we operate day to day. As a result, we have incurred increased operating costs while dealing with declining revenue. On top of that, it has been our job to reassure our customers that it is safe to come and visit us to have a drink and get a bite to eat. In the coming weeks and months, the Tavern League is going to continue to seek relief for our members financially, legally or whatever avenue is best.

We have received many phone calls, emails and letters from our members in distress, wondering what to do next. We have tried our best to answer all your questions, and help each and every one of you as best we can. We do not have all of the answers for all of you, but we continue to try to find them. This is a new world for all of us and the Tavern League continues to learn as we try to navigate these new waters.

Keep checking our website, tlw.org, for the latest updates on COVID-19. We keep updating the rules and regulations, and programs available to our members. We have also created free signage for our members to either download and print, or order from the office.

On a lighter note, fall is around the corner, which means that we are going to have our convention at the Kalahari in the Wisconsin Dells at the end of October. We are going to have a lot of new information about navigating in these uncertain times in our industry. Besides, we all need a few days to get away, unwind and share our experiences with one another, our fellow business owners. I hope to see you all in October at the Kalahari!

Cheers!

Chris Marsicano TLW President