COVID-19 and craft beer: Ohio brewery offers drive thru, home delivery beer sales

Small businesses and those who work for them may be some of the most devastated due to the coronavirus and impending mass gathering order in the State of Ohio and across the country. Fibonacci Brewing Company is one of the smallest in the State of Ohio and relies on events and taproom business as part of their core business model. As warnings and announcements have been released across the state and the country Fibonacci has been watching closely and working to create ideas for alternatives.

When Fibonacci opened in 2015, there was already an existing drive thru from the previous floral shop. At the time they thought it would be a unique offering to customers, but found that people really preferred to come in for a beer when they wanted to take something to go. However, with the impending outcomes of coronavirus, they have decided to officially open the drive thru window for pick-up.

According to co-owner and President Betty Bollas, “We understand the severity of the issue and that not everyone is able to be in a public setting right now due to age or medical condition. Some of our favorite customers fall into this category and we want to offer another way to serve them and include them. We have been using specific precautions in our taproom and this is just another way for us to serve our customers.”

Another offering that Fibonacci will launch within the next few days will be online ordering which will allow for pick up or at home delivery. They talked with the State of Ohio Division of  Liquor Control and asked if they could deliver direct to consumers homes and the answer was yes. Fibonacci will launch delivery service within the next few days and will start with a five mile radius of specific zip codes. They will offer bottles, growlers, and howlers. There is a flat delivery charge of $5 and a valid ID will be required upon delivery. There is same day delivery available for any orders received before 5:00pm other orders will be delivered the next day.

According to Bollas, “As a really small business we aren’t always the first to respond, but with my human resources and risk management background I am trained to get ahead of major issues. As a small business that relies on events and taproom sales this is our response to what’s going on and may be a new way of operating to ensure our survival.”