‘Anything But Beer’ opened 1 month before pandemic hits; Downtown Syracuse restaurant staying open for people depending on them

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — ‘Anything But Beer’ in Downtown Syracuse is among the local restaurants still open and operating under the takeout and delivery-only option.

The Downtown Syracuse taproom offers food and brews gluten-free and vegan fruit ales and ciders for those who either dislike the taste of traditional beers or have dietary restrictions.

The new taproom opened on February 14, a month before the COVID-19 pandemic really arrived in Central New York.

“It has changed the way we are running the business and how we are trying to plan for the future,” says Brittany Berry, COO of ‘Anything But Beer’.

Even though they’re closed for dine-in the taproom made a quick pivot to offer takeout and delivery.

CEO Logan Bonney tells NewsChannel 9, “We serve niche consumer segments, so different people who have different dietary restrictions, like Celiac’s Disease, those people still need food and we felt it was important to stay open and continue delivering food to people who didn’t have a lot of other options to begin with.”

He says that includes healthcare workers. Thursday night ‘Anything But Beer’ delivered its biggest takeout order yet.

They donated 60 individually wrapped dinners to staff at Upstate University Hospital.

Bonney explains, “I think a lot of people feel just on the sidelines in this and its just amazing to be a part of just helping out in any way that we can because they are working really hard around the clock at the hospitals.”

Berry tells NewsChannel 9, “Kind of a blessing having a touchpoint with them because it has given a different perspective to all of this.”

‘Anything But Beer’ will donate another 60 meals Sunday for staff at St.Joseph’s Hospital.

Berry says their sudden pivot is aimed at sustaining the restaurant and customers not just now but in the future.

“The whole first week restaurants were required to be closed was look we really want to support your business, we have dietary needs, my entire family is vegan but I cannot afford to feed them dinner from your restaurant. We really took that to heart. We’ve started occasionally offering family-style specials, we’ve lowered the prices on some of our items, we’ve increased portions sizes across the entire menu,” she says.

The restaurant has adjusted operations and is now open for takeout or delivery Thursday through Sunday.

Click here to see their menu of food and beverages and to donate to provide meals for healthcare workers.

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