This year has been a struggle for Arizona s craft brewers. Not only have they witnessed their wholesale profits drop as bars and restaurants shut down and then reopen to low capacity, but they re also watching retail profits stall due to a national aluminum can shortage. While this community is finding new ways to survive the pandemic, the Arizona Craft Brewers Guild has suffered immensely by not being able to hold events and festivals over the past year their main source of revenue. But when the brewing gets tough, the tough brew Rebuild the Guild Hazy IPA. The guild s executive director Rob Fullmer is asking the state s local craft breweries to brew their adaptation of a tried and true guild recipe, sell it to their customers and donate a portion of the proceeds back to the guild.
Craft beer fans in the Old Pueblo certainly have noticed their local bottle shop is now sporting larger selections of 4-packs and 6-packs from a variety of local and national breweries these days. Independently owned beer and wine shops like Tucson Hop Shop, Arizona Beer House and Tap & Bottle are updating their beer selections on a weekly basis to keep up with the public s demand for new brews. We ve been getting so many breweries that we never had access to before. They re all canning and packing more now that their taprooms are closed, said Tap & Bottle owner Rebecca Safford. People are constantly wanting new releases and we re even seeing Pueblo Vida releasing new beers every few weeks.
Opening and operating a bar or restaurant for any significant amount of time on Historic Fourth Avenue isn t easy even during the best of times. Competition comes from all angles and owners are constantly trying to rebuild their perpetually changing customer base of students. With that said, to take on any business endeavor during this time other than an online COVID face mask shop with free shipping would seem like insanity to even the most insane of entrepreneurs. But some brave souls are doing it downtown and they re dedicated to keeping the flavor on Fourth Avenue.
Pop s Hot Kitchen Peter Yucupicio is moving his Tucson-famous hot chicken sandwich shop from American Eat Company to the former Tallboys building in early February and updating the name from Pop s Hot Chicken to Pop s Hot Kitchen. Additionally, the owner said he plans to update his super spicy menu with comfort food favorites folks know and love at his new location.