Boulder Businesses During COVID-19
Our everyday lives have been transformed for nearly three months now. Everyone has been figuring out how to adjust, including some of your favorite businesses. We have been impressed with how businesses have made creative adaptations to stay alive and support the Boulder community as a whole. From shifting operations to support the fight against COVID-19, offering socially-distanced options, or using resources to help those in the community who need it the most, here’s how some of our favorite Boulder businesses are doing during this time.
Boulder Breweries
Boulder has been called the “Napa Valley of Craft Beer” in the past, and the countless breweries and tap houses in the area are using their sheer size to give back. A number of Boulder and northern Colorado breweries have teamed up to start brewing “Strong Pale Ale”, the proceeds of which will be donated to the many healthcare and other essential frontline workers who have been impacted by COVID-19. These Boulder favorites are participating in the Strong Pale Ale Initiative- so you can find and buy them there.
- Left Hand Brewing Co.
- Upslope Brewing Co.
- Wibby Brewing
- 300 Suns Brewing
- Grossen Bart Brewery
- Odd13 Brewing
- Ska Street Brewstillery
- Bootstrap Brewing
- Kokopelli Beer Co.
- The Post Brewing Co.
- Pumphouse Brewery
- Liquid Mechanics Brewing Co.
For those looking to enjoy from home, many bars and breweries have begun offering alcohol to go, a move which has helped nearly 87% of restaurants in the area stay afloat amid closures. Some have even gone as far as creating “beer ice cream trucks”, offering your favorite brews right at the end of your driveway, like Sanita Brewing Company.
Corporations Contributing
Boulder has always been friendly for small businesses, but it’s no stranger to medium and large sized businesses as well. This time has not been relaxing for them, as they look inwards at how they can continue to streamline operations, and support their customers and community.
PopSocket, a mobile accessory company based in Boulder that has worldwide popularity, partnered with North Carolina based Burt’s Bees to create a new product that helps consumers attach lip balm canisters to the PopSocket themselves. It is an exciting time for both of the household names as they move their offerings online and in stores.
The CEO of Broomfield based Vail Resorts has committed to donating $11.7 million to organizations who are both combating COVID-19 as well as those who are dedicated to fighting social and racial inequality. Vail Resorts hopes to support mental and behavioural health efforts in mountain communities by way of ensuring basic human rights, and empowering everyone.
Helping the state government fight COVID-19 is how Bryan Johnson, a senior engineer at Boulder based Workday is spending his days. After realizing an imminent need for plasma in the state, Johnson launched the Colorado COVID-19 Convalescent Plasma Consortium website. This helps connect people looking for information about donating plasma to COVID patients in need- and for Johnson, it meant learning new skills and putting his existing ones to use.
Workday reported that “as of Friday, April 24, the consortium had collected 320 units of plasma from more than 150 donors. All collected plasma has been distributed.”
Dining and Entertainment!
There are still many chances to sit back, relax, and enjoy everything Boulder has to offer. An institution to the food scene here, T|aco Boulder, wants everyone to know loud and proud that they are still open for take out and delivery. Many restaurants in the area are in the same boat, and like T|aco Boulder, they’re offering limited menu options while they can figure out how to host dine-in customers.
For the restaurants who are already offering dine-in, they’re doing so 6 ft. apart. Face masks and gloves are the norm for restaurant employees, and encouraged amongst patrons. This is going to be the new norm on West Pearl Street. From Ninth to 11th Streets, and a portion of an alley near North of Pearl and 10th Street will be closed off to make room for “al fresco” dining, Meaning “outside” or “in fresh air”, this project hopes to make room for the restaurants in the surrounding areas to allow for dining while social distancing by making room for patrons on streets, parking lots, and sidewalks. The Boulder Chamber of Commerce also hopes to engage artists and performers to create the lively, artsy summer environment that Boulder is no stranger to.
If you are sick of Netflix/Hulu/Disney+, you’re in luck. Drive-ins across the area have opened and they are welcoming all for classic throwbacks as well as the latest releases. Fort Collins, Montrose, Delta Tru Vu, and Buena Vista Comanche have all opened their gates for a decreased capacity crowd that allows for social distancing.
If we didn’t cover your favorite Boulder business, we encourage you to reach out to them personally and see if they’re up and operating. If they’re not currently open, shoot them a message to let them know that you’re excited for when they will be able to.
