NYC sports bar brews its own beer to make money during coronavirus lockdown
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New York City, which has become the American epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, is now a ghost town, locked down and empty. Finally, the city that never sleeps is no longer awake.
Manhattan, however, is Capitalism Island.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}You have to hustle and grind, even during tragedy, or you get kicked out: You have to be able to afford the megapolis to stay.
The Big Apple has approximately 27,000 bars and restaurants. But that won’t stop the cool kids of Downtown Manhattan, who never go farther north than 14th Street, from continuing to find a way to be the American Dream.
Level up or get gone.
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Millennial entrepreneurs Maximilian Caraballo, 32, and Jake Daddow, 31, own the sports bar Boys Don’t Cry. (Sarah Jake for One37pm)
Millennial entrepreneurs Maximilian Caraballo, 32, and Jake Daddow, 31, own the sports bar Boys Don’t Cry, and during the isolation of quarantine they developed a beer and are selling their pilsner locally.
Caraballo told Fox News: “We knew that at some point we wanted to collaborate with a local brewery and launch our own beer. There are establishments that have worked with breweries to produce custom draft lines, but our vision was for each individual walking into Boys Don't Cry to see other customers holding and enjoying one of our cans. When the whole New York Pause was implemented and we were no longer able to open our doors to customers, we felt that we could still do something special and expedited the process to get the beer in the hands of the people as quickly as we could.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“We teamed up with Braven Brewing, originally based out of Brooklyn and now operating out of Newport, Rhode Island. It's our first of hopefully many beverage collaborations.”
The Big Apple has approximately 27,000 bars and restaurants. But that won’t stop the cool kids of Downtown Manhattan, who never go farther north than 14th Street, from continuing to find a way to be The American Dream. (Kenny Cousins)
New York has to continue to New York.
Daddow told Fox News: “We’re just trying to generate different revenue streams while the bar is closed.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The bar, a new city hotspot, is located in one of the last neighborhoods in Manhattan yet to be gentrified into a corporate urbanity of global name brands and suburban lifestyles: the Lower East Side. Across two blocks near the border of Chinatown, tourists and locals see a New York from a time gone by: Regina’s Grocery sells old-school Italian delicacies, the kids love to get their ink at Evil & Love Tattoo, and dudes get their hair cut at the international hip-hop barbershop Frank's Chop Shop.
The sports bar Boys Don’t Cry in Downtown Manhattan. (Boys Don't Cry)
The owners call it an “elevated dive,” like a dive bar for young cool kids who aren’t trendy but create the trends: creatives, models, athletes, big city folks doing big global things.
Their brothers came together to take their community next level.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Caraballo told Fox News: “I'm extremely grateful to have been able to work with one of my biggest supporters, mentor and friend, Dustin Canalin, on the design of the can. He's designed brands and uniforms for the likes of Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Golden State Warriors, Minnesota Timberwolves and Chicago Bulls. It was definitely a special treat that he was willing to take the time to work with us.”
Next he got a photographer friend, Kenny Cousins, to give their brand the right look for social media.
They have been selling it from their storefront downtown.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“New York City is a bit eerie at the moment. Streets that were once bustling with cafes, restaurants and bars are now desolate,” Caraballo told Fox News.
Jake Daddow told Fox News: “We’re just trying to generate different revenue streams while the bar is closed.” (Kenny Cousins)
New York requires people to wear face coverings when in close proximity to others in public. As people grow wearier of the extended lockdown, some complain that requirement infringes on individual liberty.
As some upstate areas prepare to start phasing in economic activity this week, New York City is still in lockdown.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The 195 deaths recorded in New York on Wednesday are a jump from 161 the previous day, but still about a quarter of the highest daily tallies just over a month ago. Hospitalization rates also continue to decline.
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“New York City is a bit eerie at the moment. Streets that were once bustling with cafes, restaurants and bars are now desolate,” Max Caraballo told Fox News. (Kenny Cousins)
Caraballo thinks his service is providing relief, a nostalgia for happier times, more chill, more cool, more healthy and sane.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}They are starting small and looking to scale up.
“It's always good to see a familiar face, especially under the circumstances we're living in. A big thanks to all the friends, family, neighbors and random passersby that have ventured down to Orchard Street to purchase a four-pack of our Boys Pilsner. At the moment, the beer is only available for pick-up and takeout at 22 Orchard Street. Within the next week, we'll be offering delivery in Manhattan and select parts of Brooklyn. And we're diligently working to make this beer available to America's Heartland!”