Their brewery and tap room, located on Rice Drier Rd., is only offering to-go orders as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact restaurants and bars. It's a big change for a brewery that only sells its products on site.
"This is definitely a unique time for all breweries across the country, he says. "Having to close the doors down to your guests is tough."
On a busy Saturday during normal operations, Kauniste says it's not unusual to see a few hundred people hanging out at their family-friendly brewery. And he's doing everything he can to stay connected with those customers from afar.
"We had to come up with other methods." said Kauniste.
They've been using social media to chat directly with members of the community, even offering advice on home brewing and beer trends. They're also thinking outside the box and having some fun. Customers have been messaging Vallensons' with their favorite beers at the brewery. In return, Kauniste is bringing some of them free beer in a quirky way.
"One of the crazy things that we decided to do was some ding-dong-ditchin'," he says. "It was fun letting them answer their door to see a cold growler of Vallensons' beer on their porch. We're going to continue to do that."
Kauniste sees these methods as a way to get his beer into the community and make people smile.
"The morale is down for everybody in this community," he says. "They're continuing to support us, so we're just trying to do what we can to help small business and keep the morale up."
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