LOCKDOWN WITH WINE DOWN
Here are some things to help bring a little of the Wine Down Spirit to your sheltering in place:
- Wine Down Playlist on Spotify
- Nominate a Health Care Worker Form
- Compilation of online workouts
- Virtual Happy Hour RSVP
- Take Action
- Like many small businesses, we're still responsible for paying rent despite forced closure (which we support in the interest of public health). Help us encourage Gov. Newsom to enact an order that would forgive rent for us and all the other small businesses in California during the lockdown. And call on one of the Nation's largest landlords to offer rent abatement to their small business retail tenants.
- TAKE ACTION TOOLKIT
- Independent Restaurant Coalition Campaign: Message your reps right now to create a dedicated relief fund to help independent bars and restaurants re-open and stay open.
- Acts of Kindness:
- Contact a local senior facility or Love the Elderly to send a letter to help isolated seniors feel less lonely
- Post a sign in your apartment hallway offering to get essentials for vulnerable populations
- There’s a shortage of blood, and donating is considered safe (if you go to an independent facility, not a hospital). Book a time to give blood and save lives
- If you have more ideas, please share! IG: @winedownsf.com
- Wine Down Backdrops for Zoom:
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UPdates
May 4, 2020
Four years ago today, we were knee-deep in construction, building the bar of our dreams. We wanted to introduce people to awesome local wine and beer, but most importantly, we wanted to create a place for people to gather and feel welcome, comfortable, and appreciated. We made that happen, thanks in no small part to all of you.
Then, seven weeks ago today, we closed the bar for the foreseeable future.
Among the many questions we've been asked (and been asking ourselves):
Of course, we never fathomed a disaster on quite this scale.
Bars and restaurants have been told to be "creative," to try revenue streams that profit very little (if anything), while risking the safety of workers. We've also been told to apply for loans, defer our rent, get new credit cards. . . to go deeper into debt.
These are all tiny, dangerous band-aids for a very large wound. While opening at limited capacity with other potential small revenue streams might bring in a little cash, for many bars and restaurants, including Wine Down, it will not be enough to pay our regular expenses.
That's why we're continuing to advocate for the industry and for a rent freeze. It doesn't make sense to ask a business to pay rent on a lease for a business that simply cannot exist right now, and won't be able to safely operate in a way that makes financial sense for what's likely many more months to come.
With rent relief, in addition to our savings, continued online sales (thank you for supporting our little online store!), reduced operating expenses, and the grants and loans we've applied to and will hopefully receive, Wine Down will be able to stay in hibernation until it is safe to re-open as the community gathering place it's intended to be.
In the meantime, we'll continue to keep the connections and spirit of Wine Down alive to the best of our ability.
Hopefully you've seen and joined our virtual events. If we haven't heard from you, please drop us a line to let us know how you're doing. We miss you! And be sure to check out our website and follow us on Instagram, so you don't miss out on any of our flash sales or special events. We'll have some fun announcements soon.
Keep up your cravings for Chambongs, because with your continued support, we will be back before you know it.
With continued gratitude,
Sarah & Jaime
Co-Owners, Wine Down
March 31, 2020
Another day passes with zero income. This is our new reality as a small business forced to close because of COVID-19. We support the closure in the interest of public health, because we’re all in this together, but that doesn’t make it any less painful to board up the wine bar of our dreams for an indefinite amount of time.
We wrote to our landlord, asking for rent abatement. We believe there should be an immediate freeze on rent payments for small business tenants during the shelter-in-place order, so San Francisco’s service industry isn’t completely decimated by the pandemic.
A week after our request for a rent freeze, we receive a response from our landlord. It’s a “no” but wrapped in the pretty package of 4 months of rent “deferment,” along with the helpful suggestion we discuss our situation with our insurance carrier, as our landlord “believe[s] this is an insurable event. This [the ability to get this covered by insurance] is obviously a key component to all of our success and ability to reopen successfully,” they say.
“Obviously.” Only, we’ve already discussed “our situation” with our insurance carrier weeks ago, anticipating the closure. They say this is not an insurable event. Not just our insurance carrier, but pretty much every insurance carrier in the country has an exclusion for claims stemming from viruses. The industry inserted these exclusions into most standard policies following the SARS outbreak in the early 2000s.
So back to their response. Deferment. What does it mean? It means we don’t have to pay our rent now, which is great, right? Well, you know what’s not so great? Debt accumulation.
If the pandemic continues for several more months—which most scientists say it will—we will be at least $24,000 in debt to our landlord. That’s a lot of money to us. And if we learn from China, the hospitality industry will continue to be hit hard long after people are no longer sheltering in place. If, through no fault of our own, bars and other small businesses cannot earn any income, why should we be expected to pay bills as usual, and allow large landlords continue to earn income? We’re all in this together. Or at least we thought we were.
Equity Residential, our landlord, brings in $2.6 billion in annual revenue and has $21.2 billion in assets. They have the ability and means to be leaders in corporate responsibility and significantly help small business tenants, but they’re not. (Oh, and their stock price is surging along with the number of coronavirus cases).
If they aren’t going to take it upon themselves to step up and help their small commercial tenants, then someone needs to tell them to do it.
We need for Governor Newsom to enact an immediate freeze on rent for residential and small business tenants during the COVID-19 crisis.
And yes, we do understand landlords have similar obligations to pay their mortgages, so their burden must be eased as well. There must be a freeze on mortgages so property owners, especially smaller landlords, can afford to forgo rent during the period businesses must remain closed.
The New York State Senate and Assembly is already working to enact a bill that would offer a 90-day rent freeze for residential tenants and small businesses (defined as fewer than 100 employees). California must do the same.
On March 24, SF Supervisors Matt Haney, Hillary Ronen, and Dean Preston introduced a resolution calling for rents and mortgages to be frozen and forgiven during this crisis, and we are asking everyone reading this to get behind this resolution.
The longer these days with zero income continue without a freeze on rent, the less likely it is that many of us small businesses will make it to the other side of this. When we boarded up our wine bar, we intended it to be temporary. And we are doing everything in our power to ensure it’s only temporary. So please help ensure a swift economic recovery for small businesses by supporting the rent and mortgage moratorium. As Haney wrote it his Chronicle Op-Ed recently: Post about it, talk about it, call your elected officials and demand it.
Four years ago today, we were knee-deep in construction, building the bar of our dreams. We wanted to introduce people to awesome local wine and beer, but most importantly, we wanted to create a place for people to gather and feel welcome, comfortable, and appreciated. We made that happen, thanks in no small part to all of you.
Then, seven weeks ago today, we closed the bar for the foreseeable future.
Among the many questions we've been asked (and been asking ourselves):
- Are we and our team okay, financially, with no regular income?
- Thanks to increased unemployment benefits, yes, for now.
- How are we doing?
- Overall, we're staying positive, feeling healthy, and recognize we're very fortunate.
- How long can Wine Down survive like this?
- Good question. . .
Of course, we never fathomed a disaster on quite this scale.
Bars and restaurants have been told to be "creative," to try revenue streams that profit very little (if anything), while risking the safety of workers. We've also been told to apply for loans, defer our rent, get new credit cards. . . to go deeper into debt.
These are all tiny, dangerous band-aids for a very large wound. While opening at limited capacity with other potential small revenue streams might bring in a little cash, for many bars and restaurants, including Wine Down, it will not be enough to pay our regular expenses.
That's why we're continuing to advocate for the industry and for a rent freeze. It doesn't make sense to ask a business to pay rent on a lease for a business that simply cannot exist right now, and won't be able to safely operate in a way that makes financial sense for what's likely many more months to come.
With rent relief, in addition to our savings, continued online sales (thank you for supporting our little online store!), reduced operating expenses, and the grants and loans we've applied to and will hopefully receive, Wine Down will be able to stay in hibernation until it is safe to re-open as the community gathering place it's intended to be.
In the meantime, we'll continue to keep the connections and spirit of Wine Down alive to the best of our ability.
Hopefully you've seen and joined our virtual events. If we haven't heard from you, please drop us a line to let us know how you're doing. We miss you! And be sure to check out our website and follow us on Instagram, so you don't miss out on any of our flash sales or special events. We'll have some fun announcements soon.
Keep up your cravings for Chambongs, because with your continued support, we will be back before you know it.
With continued gratitude,
Sarah & Jaime
Co-Owners, Wine Down
March 31, 2020
Another day passes with zero income. This is our new reality as a small business forced to close because of COVID-19. We support the closure in the interest of public health, because we’re all in this together, but that doesn’t make it any less painful to board up the wine bar of our dreams for an indefinite amount of time.
We wrote to our landlord, asking for rent abatement. We believe there should be an immediate freeze on rent payments for small business tenants during the shelter-in-place order, so San Francisco’s service industry isn’t completely decimated by the pandemic.
A week after our request for a rent freeze, we receive a response from our landlord. It’s a “no” but wrapped in the pretty package of 4 months of rent “deferment,” along with the helpful suggestion we discuss our situation with our insurance carrier, as our landlord “believe[s] this is an insurable event. This [the ability to get this covered by insurance] is obviously a key component to all of our success and ability to reopen successfully,” they say.
“Obviously.” Only, we’ve already discussed “our situation” with our insurance carrier weeks ago, anticipating the closure. They say this is not an insurable event. Not just our insurance carrier, but pretty much every insurance carrier in the country has an exclusion for claims stemming from viruses. The industry inserted these exclusions into most standard policies following the SARS outbreak in the early 2000s.
So back to their response. Deferment. What does it mean? It means we don’t have to pay our rent now, which is great, right? Well, you know what’s not so great? Debt accumulation.
If the pandemic continues for several more months—which most scientists say it will—we will be at least $24,000 in debt to our landlord. That’s a lot of money to us. And if we learn from China, the hospitality industry will continue to be hit hard long after people are no longer sheltering in place. If, through no fault of our own, bars and other small businesses cannot earn any income, why should we be expected to pay bills as usual, and allow large landlords continue to earn income? We’re all in this together. Or at least we thought we were.
Equity Residential, our landlord, brings in $2.6 billion in annual revenue and has $21.2 billion in assets. They have the ability and means to be leaders in corporate responsibility and significantly help small business tenants, but they’re not. (Oh, and their stock price is surging along with the number of coronavirus cases).
If they aren’t going to take it upon themselves to step up and help their small commercial tenants, then someone needs to tell them to do it.
We need for Governor Newsom to enact an immediate freeze on rent for residential and small business tenants during the COVID-19 crisis.
And yes, we do understand landlords have similar obligations to pay their mortgages, so their burden must be eased as well. There must be a freeze on mortgages so property owners, especially smaller landlords, can afford to forgo rent during the period businesses must remain closed.
The New York State Senate and Assembly is already working to enact a bill that would offer a 90-day rent freeze for residential tenants and small businesses (defined as fewer than 100 employees). California must do the same.
On March 24, SF Supervisors Matt Haney, Hillary Ronen, and Dean Preston introduced a resolution calling for rents and mortgages to be frozen and forgiven during this crisis, and we are asking everyone reading this to get behind this resolution.
The longer these days with zero income continue without a freeze on rent, the less likely it is that many of us small businesses will make it to the other side of this. When we boarded up our wine bar, we intended it to be temporary. And we are doing everything in our power to ensure it’s only temporary. So please help ensure a swift economic recovery for small businesses by supporting the rent and mortgage moratorium. As Haney wrote it his Chronicle Op-Ed recently: Post about it, talk about it, call your elected officials and demand it.