Beer here, Bouquet next: How a bar defies a pandemic

Ms. Easterbrook, Hatch’s manager, had planned to open a sister bar called Good for Nothing, but she quickly abandoned the plan when a pandemic struck. Later, in a late-night chat waiting for take-away orders at Hatch, Miss Easterbrook, a trained florist and Mr. Kachingwe came up with the idea for Pothead. For them, the concept makes sense: Still in demand for flowers and plants, Hatch’s new outdoor space could attract customers, and they could use the bar’s liquor business license to sell. alcohol.

The first few weeks were a success, Ms. Easterbrook said, although Mr. Kachingwe still has much to learn. “At first, he asked me things like, ‘Should I get more sand for the flowers?’, She said.

Mr. Kachingwe has teamed up with Hatch’s chef, Leonardo Garcia, to make and bottle a variety of sauces, including Hatch Fire Ketchup and Hatch Fuego. And he worked with Giacchino Breen, a 23-year-old bartender, on bottling cocktails under the new brand, Wolfmoon. As part of Mr. Kachingwe’s effort to empower his employees, Mr. Garcia and Mr. Breen have a stake in the sale.

Now, after a year he’s worried that Hatch will never reopen fully, Kachingwe says his biggest worry is welcoming customers back inside. He’s trying to figure out how to make the sound system cover both indoor and outdoor spaces and whether indoor customers order food in the outdoor window. Until they got the vaccine, some staff weren’t comfortable with customers going back inside the compact bar.

In fact, Mr. Kachingwe said, he liked the newer Hatch more than before the pandemic. With the outdoor seating, “it’s more alive,” he said. “I don’t see it going back to the way it was.”

Kirla Oyola-Seal contributed to the report.