It’s the beer — and a lot more

With PPP in hand, Daft Badger Brewing will add food to curbside services

COEUR d’ALENE — You can’t sit down in Daft Badger Brewing and drink a beer — but you can buy one.

Or a six-pack. Or a case.

Many have.

“The beer sales have been a nice surprise,” said Darrell Dlouhy, owner.

Since it closed March 16, the neighborhood bar and restaurant at 1710 N. Second St. has been selling beer for takeout on Fridays.

In a time of economic challenges, it’s proven to be an unexpected and steady revenue source.

“We’re hoping we can break even,” Dlouhy said.

Last Friday, Daft Badger sold 634, 16-ounce cans of its beer that is brewed on site.

The week before, about 500.

And before that, it sold 130 cases of beer — 24, 12-ounce cans go for $56 — in a day and a half.

“It’s been successful,” Dlouhy said as he sat at a table while a few employees behind the bar poured and canned beer, soon to be sold.

And they’ll be offering it again on Friday.

“I think we’ll go through those 130 pretty easily,” he said.

He said the pub has weathered the government-ordered shutdown thanks to a loyal following it’s built up in five years, being approved for the federal Paycheck Protection Program, and the generosity of the community.

He said during the closure, it has still sold $6,000 worth of gift certificates.

“I think a lot of people did it just for kindness,” Dlouhy said, smiling.

When he decided to close the brewpub a week before Gov. Brad Little’s stay-home order, he gave 14 employees two weeks of paid vacation “to help ease the pain of unemployment.”

The idea was to cut costs and ride things out with hopes to bring everyone back soon.

“We thought if we hunkered down, we could survive for a while,” he said. “We wanted to get a sense of how this all was going to look moving forward.”

Meantime, Dlouhy followed the news about the coronavirus closely and paid particular attention to financial help offered by the government to small businesses.

He said with the help of Mountain West Bank, he qualified for the PPP, which enabled him to put all employees back on payroll for two months.

“Luckily, we got it,” he said. “We need all the help we can get.”

Before that, Dlouhy had been hesitant to offer curbside food service because he believed it would be too costly. Even closed, he has to pay mortgage, utilities and other bills.

“I’m a numbers guy. I thought, ‘There’s no way we can make this work,’” he said.

But with the PPP covering salaries, he decided that Daft Badger Brewing will on Tuesday begin offering takeout service of food, along with its popular beers.

As well, they’ll be doing some community service projects, such as picking up litter at Tubbs Hill.

He appreciates the government assistance, community support and dedicated staff, some who have been with him all five years.

“I’m grateful for a lot of things,” he said. “We feel like we’ve been very fortunate.”

Dlouhy has long been part of North Idaho. He is a 1972 Coeur d’Alene High graduate. A guitarist, he played with a band “The Renovators,” and has been involved in the art scene here and worked as a contractor. His son, Matt Dlouhy, was a standout basketball player at Lake City High School and played at the University of Montana.

He’s hopeful that nonessential businesses are allowed to fully open soon, but adds that the health of people is a priority.

“You just want to do the right thing,” he said.

Until life and work return to normal, Dlouhy plans to take things day-by-day and focus on the positive.

“There’s a lot of good people in this town helping each other, and we’re grateful for them,” he said.