In Times Of Need, Canadian Bartenders Are Supporting Each Other

As the pandemic continues to take a toll on businesses across the world, the future of the restaurant industry is uncertain. There are weeks, more likely months, to go until COVID-19 restrictions are raised, and the questions for furloughed restaurant staff bartenders ask are, how will they pay the bills? Rent? Healthcare?

A Canadian not-for-profit initiated by industry members has stepped in, raising funds for industry professionals whose work has been disrupted.  

“The Bartenders Benevolent Fund began as an informal idea to help bartenders in need of financial assistance, back in 2013,” explains co-founder Jonny Gray, who started the BBF along with industry veterans Dr. Andrew Toplack of The Toplack Sessions and Jonathan Humphrey of The Drake properties and the Toronto Cocktail Conference. (The Shameful Tiki’s Alana Nogueda and Moneris’ Bev Wooding has since joined the board.) “We knew from the start that a bartender with an illness or injury is also one who is struggling to pay their rent and their bills and we wanted to provide a safety net where there wasn’t one before.”

The BBF puts funds in the pockets of Canadian restaurant and bar staff suffering financial hardship. Applications are reviewed and funds are allocated by a panel of local industry members. All professional bartenders, servers and FOH staff in Canada on an hourly wage are eligible to apply, granted they have a social insurance number and held employment on or after January 5, 2020.

To date, major brands have put monetary support behind the BBF’s efforts. Corby Spirits and Wine and Diageo Canada have donated $100,000, while Beam Suntory Canada has given $50,000. William Grant & Sons has contributed $25,000, as has Breakthru Beverage Canada. 

The program initially started as a Toronto-focused non-profit, but when COVID-19’s government-mandated closures affected tens of thousands of industry members across the country, Bartender’s Benevolent Fund ramped up operations. “Since Covid-19 became a pandemic which closed all of our country’s bars and restaurants by government mandate, we knew someone needed to help,” says Gray.

Gray cites a lack of support options for bartenders as part of the catalyst for the cause. “We looked around and didn’t see many options available so we had a really big internal conversation. The only way we knew to do this was to replicate our model until it covered the country. We expanded from bartenders to include hourly servers and FOH support staff, implemented systems for them to anonymously apply for financial aid, and recruited dozens of volunteers, consisting of hospitality industry professionals so each application could be judged by someone who best understood your needs, from your region.”

The bar industry has been floored by the effects of COVID-19. Bars aren’t built to offer takeout and delivery, leaving the majority of industry businesses to lay off their staff and owners to rely on savings or stimulus to weather the crisis. The pandemic has also pointed out major holes in how an entire industry operates—in the hospitality world, low and stagnant wages are the norm (with tips—often undeclared—counting for a major chunk of income), and employer-provided health insurance is uncommon.

South of the border, the United States Bartenders Guild has been overwhelmed by applications for their charity arm’s support funds. The $7 million fund has received over 300,000 applications, but board member Kim Haasarud anticipates between 15,000 and 50,000 furloughed industry members will receive money. 

“Our nonprofit now has 24 volunteers donating their time from across the country,” says BBF’s Gray. “We have raised almost $400,000 in sponsorship which we award to those most in need on weekly cycles. To date, we have processed over 170 applications, and distributed over $60,000 to hospitality staff nationwide.”

Continued corporate and private donations to both charity funds will help raise the number of out-of-work bar employees who are provided with support. 

Spirits brands have been lining up to support bartenders, some through donations to the USBG and BBF, and others, through brand-driven cocktail contests and virtual happy hours. (Though some brands have come under fire for making the competition prize money almost equivalent to the price of buying the bottle, making it an ill-conceived, low-reward venture for out-of-work bartenders.)

“We’re in an industry where we don’t have a lot of resources for help due to unexpected circumstances,” says Alana Nogueda, co-owner of The Shameful Tiki in Toronto and BBF board member. “When things go wrong a lot of us don’t have a ‘back up’ plan. COVID-19 has hit this industry so hard and we need to come together and help each other get through this.”

“We’re here to help people in need,” Nogueda concludes. “With outlets like these I only hope we get to hear those voices of the individuals that need it most.”