“Beer gardens” were already becoming a thing before a pandemic made everyone afraid to drink indoors.
Drinking outdoors seemed delightfully European to the hipster crowd. It was a perfect option in those up-and-coming gritty industrial neighborhoods with empty lots and cheap land. They require less staff per person, which is crucial as wages climb in growing cities.
San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Grand Rapids, Michigan, and every city big and small started seeing new beer gardens in recent years. Many welcomed dogs, which young people now have instead of children. Others welcomed children, which can drive young parents to drink. One beer garden in the Washington, D.C., suburbs is strewn with sand and adopted a beach theme.
Then, the coronavirus hit, and the demand for outdoor drinking skyrocketed — thanks to local laws against indoor dining, capacity limits, and also the public’s discomfort about being indoors with strangers.
It seems the demand for outdoor drinking is now outstripping supply, and so, increasingly, beer gardens are taking reservations for the first time ever.
Requiring reservations for a beer garden is like holding a draft for a pickup basketball game. Beer gardens are the epitome of informal. They usually don’t serve food but let food trucks park outside. Again, there are dogs and children there.
The Washington City Paper reported in October: “Denizens Brewing Co. in Silver Spring, Red Bear Brewing Co. in NoMa, Church Hall in Georgetown, and Hook Hall in Park View all have outdoor seating and take online reservations for whenever they’re open and operating.”
In and around Silver Spring, Maryland, the local government (otherwise dedicated to locking everything down) is trying to address the excess demand for outdoor drinking: The county is allowing people to drink beer at some parks if it’s delivered along with food from a local restaurant.
All of this comes after many cities and towns turned their sidewalks and streets into expanded patios for local restaurants and bars.
Soon, it will be winter, and the demand for outdoor drinking will drop. But until then, bundle up and grab a brew — as long as you have a reservation.
