Central Oregon breweries’ sales plunge due to coronavirus pandemic

'It's just the sales are not there'; hanging in there, hoping for a rebound

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ )-- Central Oregon is a well-known beer-making and craft brewing hub. But right now, due to so many business closures, numerous breweries are seeing a drastic decline in sales and trying to hang on for whatever comes next.

A recent survey by the Brewers Association says that a typical brewery is experiencing on-site beer sale declines of 65 percent, and that number appears to be even higher for Bend's breweries.

For instance, 10 Barrel Brewing said they are seeing almost a 70 to 80 percent decrease in sales right now, and Worthy Brewing has cut down on hours and staff while its limited to takeout orders.

Adam Foster, director of marketing for Worthy Brewing said, "Everyone is probably feeling the same thing, who has a dining room. It's just the sales are not there -- especially going into the spring break period. That's when things start to pick up, going into summertime, that's when we see things pick up."

Eric Jakob, general manager for Bend's Eastside 10 Barrel Brew Pub, said, "We are ready to jump on and go back to where we were before this, to be able to operate at 100 percent of that number, within 48 hours of getting notice of when this is going to happen."

"However, we don't see it going that way," he said. "We see restrictions being put in place, and having fewer tables in the restaurant, with guests spread further apart and limits on capacity."

Both 10 Barrel and Worthy Brewing say they don't know what their business will look like when its time to reopen, but they're glad they've been able to keep their doors open during this time.