Helping Hands at an Omaha Distillery
Brickway Brewery and Distillery is one of many Nebraska small businesses dramatically impacted by the COVID-19 state of emergency.
With their Omaha taproom closed to gatherings, business has been cut by more than 75%.
But Zac Triemert, the owner of Brickway, saw another way his operation could serve the public.
Zac is using the alcohol from his distillery to produce hand sanitizer, which is facing a critical shortage right now. Many professionals and organizations need consistent access to these supplies to participate in the response to COVID-19 and to maintain the services that give us some sense of normalcy in this crisis.
Zac and Brickway are giving away the hand sanitizer for free.
But because so many people from the community are reaching out to Zac for help, he could use a hand from you. His team at Brickway needs to continue purchasing plastic bottles, labels, aloe, and hydrogen peroxide to combine with his alcohol to make hand sanitizer.
You can support Brickway’s production and distribution of hand sanitizer by sharing and donating to their GoFundMe campaign at this link.
Nebraskans like Zac are giving of themselves in this difficult time, and the state and local governments can do more to remove barriers for entrepreneurs like him, who are critical to helping the state rise out of this recession.
Alcohol is usually heavily taxed by the federal and state government. But under new legislation passed this week, the federal government has suspended excise taxes on distilled spirits used to make hand sanitizer.
The State of Nebraska should follow suit so people like Zac can dedicate more resources to current community needs.
Even though every part of daily life is being disrupted, the small business community is stepping up to offer solutions. Policymakers need to do the same and help our creative entrepreneurs adapt.