Just over one month ago, on March 16th, we closed our doors for the safety and well being of our staff and patrons due to the Covid-19 virus. All of our front of house staff were laid off and had to apply for Employment Insurance. Within a few days, all full service restaurants and pubs closed and take-out was the only option for restaurants trying to keep their businesses operational. Life as we knew it was about to change forever and we were all unsure of what was ahead of us.
On March 19th, The 101 was approached by Shain Jackson, a volunteer for an organization called Golden Eagle Rising Society. He was looking for a distillery for hand sanitizer for the purpose of protecting indigenous elders. Other distilleries were producing sanitizer and we thought it was a great idea. So we turned to our head distiller and head brewer and started production. We were able to supply Golden Eagle Rising Society with our first batch and had a plan to produce more for health care services. With the major supply shortage of sanitizer we began doing everything possible to produce large volumes. Within two weeks, we procured enough alcohol, hydrogen peroxide and glycerin to supply Vancouver Coastal Health, Golden Eagle Rising and Sunshine Coast residents.
We followed the World Health Organization’s (WHO) guidelines to make sanitizer and completed the application process to become licensed by Health Canada. Within two weeks we had converted our brewery and distillery into a temporary sanitizer manufacturing facility.
101 Web Store Launched
On April 3rd, The 101 launched a new web store and began selling sanitizer online to help recover some of the start up costs of this project. Sales quickly came in from the Sunshine Coast, the lower mainland and other areas of the province. Over 1000 litres of sanitizer has been supplied to Golden Eagle Rising and Vancouver Coastal Health. We have re-hired ten employees and continue to hire as production and sales grow. Now with all the ingredients available to produce large volumes, we are able to make sanitizer for the duration of this crisis.
A Plan to Give Back
Today we are launching a project with Coastal Crisis Outreach to give sanitizer to people and groups in need. Coastal Crisis Outreach is reaching out to charity groups and other organizations. The plan is get our product into the hands of those who need it the most. Our goal is to donate 1000 bottles in the first two weeks of this program. For every 500ml bottle purchased for donation, The 101 will match a bottle. You can purchase from our online store and enter the promo code “Helping Hands” at checkout. You can also visit The 101 in person and purchase for yourself or donate. We are open daily from 12pm-5pm. All donations will be listed on our site and updated on a daily basis. Visit our web store here .
Fore more information about Coastal Crisis Outreach and how you can help, please visit their website at https://www.coastalcrisisoutreach.com/ Thank you for your support and we wish our community health and safety during these times.