Brewery owner grateful to Grantham customers after pandemic virtually ruined her business
The owner of a Grantham brewery has thanked her customers for keeping her business alive after the coronavirus lockdown virtually collapsed her business.
Kathy Britton says the crisis saw her Zest Brewery, formerly Oldershaws, collapse overnight because pubs were closed and events she was due to attend, at places such as Burghley House, Dysart Park Fun Day and Grantham Running Club, were lost to the mobile bar arm of the business, Bar Zest.
But with the support of the people of Grantham, Kathy has managed to maintain some income by offering contact-free home deliveries to addresses in Grantham and within a 20-mile radius.
Kathy said: ‘We have been overwhelmed with the support of the local people and having put a plea out to help us drink our lovely cask beers, which we’d brewed to go into pubs and were at risk of going out of date, they have risen to the challenge.
"Because of our bar service we’ve also been offering to deliver cider, lager and prosecco too and it has meant we have at least had some money coming to cover our essential bills like the rent.
"And in a bid to try to help our fantastic pub customers, we have also been recalling our casks which remained unsold in their cellar and offering them a full refund."
Kathy said she had sympathy for brewers and pubs which were struggling to pay rent and bills while they were closed.
She added: "We hope that people are supporting their local pubs in whatever takeaway services they are offering and when this crisis passes people will get back out and support their locals. We fear, however, that for many pubs it will be too late as the cash flow has dried up and rates and rents are still being demanded.
"We are hoping that the government will freeze all beer duty payments and rents to help not only us small brewers survive but our great British institution ‘the pub’."
Kathy owned the award-winning Oldershaw Brewery which ran for 20 years before launching the re-branded Zest Brewery. She is offering free delivery of a variety of beers in 36 pint casks, nine pint minicasks, a selection of bottles and cans of beer and other drinks either through the website at www.zest-brewery.co.uk, by email: info@zest-brewery.co.uk or by phone on 01476 572135.
