Promised Land shows promise through pandemic ‘ nightmare ’
by Giovanni Albanese / photos by Promised Land Brewing
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At the beginning of 2020 things were brewing nicely here in Gilroy . From our perch at Settle Down Beer , we were on the cusp of signing a lease to become a fixture of the fabric of the new and improved downtown Gilroy for years to come .
eanwhile , Promised Land Brewing Company was about to embark on its first anniversary , celebrating 12 months of pouring suds into pint glasses and 32-ounce crowler cans out of its taproom at 7419 Monterey St .
Then everything changed .
Our friends a block down the road were handed a heaping pile of hot garbage known as the COVID-19 global pandemic — along with the rest of us — and managed to turn that into a business model ready to burst at the seams .
Even though it seems like a lifetime ago , many of us remember it vividly , reading the reports of this virus making its way across the globe and seeping into our borders . Eric Ingram , the owner of Promised Land , said they were all excited to celebrate their one-year achievement but were bracing for potential shutdowns at the same time .
“ We were supposed to have a party planned for March 15 , but we kind of knew when we were coming up to it that we weren ' t going to , then ( shortly after canceling the party ) everything shut down ,” Ingram said .
Ingram and his family were already isolating in the leadup to the shutdown . At the brewery , all his staff wanted to work but they had to close . It was make or break time . Fast forward two-plus years , and you all know the story . We lost a lot of
people — many people , myself included , lost loved ones — and many companies were hemorrhaging money before shuttering .
Ingram , who also owns a line of barbecue restaurants throughout the Bay Area , had to figure out how to keep his brewery afloat . To regroup and think it through , he closed the taproom for a week .
“ That was a kick in the pants , for sure . It was a big unknown ,” he said .
Promised Land , at the time , had a business model to pour beers in their taproom and sell kegs to restaurants to serve at their establishments . With eateries shutting down , as well as the taproom , which is 100 percent of their revenue — a stream that Ingram said was on a great trajectory plummeted to zero . So they directed customers to their online store to purchase crowlers that would be delivered to local customers for free .
While that allowed the brewery to keep its four employees afloat and to pay the bills , it started to present other challenges , namely fulfilling the abundance of orders on demand . It forced Ingram and Promised Land to speed up their plans . They always had an eye at canning beers to-go , but the pandemic thrust them into that endeavor much quicker . So quick , they couldn ’ t even research canning lines to do the work in-house .
“ We conceded and realized that we ’ re not going to reopen any time soon so we started using The Can Van ,” he said .
That company , which comes to a brewery location and cans beers in 16-ounce cans , was a huge help , the PLBC owner
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