8
Beverage Media
December 2012
www.BevNetwork.com
SPECIAL
REPORT
S
uperstorm Sandy held little
back when she viciously at-
tacked the East Coast at the
end of October, with the Jersey
hore, New York City and Long Island
hit especially hard. Devastation could be
felt across all three tiers of our industry,
from stores and bars to distributors and
suppliers. The impact included crippling
power outages, flooded buildings and
damaged inventory and infrastructure.
Fortunately, after one week, busi-
ness was back on track for much of
the region. With power restored and
clean-up under way, many distribu-
tors resumed deliveries and businesses
reopened. In retrospect, the days that
followed the unprecedented storm will
be remembered as much for community
and industry response as for the physical
damage. The industry—individuals and
businesses alike—stepped up to rebuild
and regroup for the future.
Disaster Zones
One of the most devastated areas was
Red Hook, Brooklyn. Ron Kyle and
Mary Dudine Kyle of Dry Dock Wine
&
Spirits had tried to prepare for the
storm by moving inventory out of the
basement, but Sandy ultimately brought
three feet of water into the store at street
level. Their home in the neighborhood
was also devastated. Despite the double
whammy, the store was able to reopen at
a nearby location.
Ron Kyle said, “The temporary lo-
cation is similar in size so we should be
able to keep about 80% of the facings we
had. We don’t have the same amount of
storage, so we have to watch our inven-
tory levels and we probably can’t buy as
deep as we used to, which will have a
negative effect on our margins.”
In Manhattan’s financial district,
California Wine Merchants took to
social media during the storm, posting
Instagram photos and Twitter and Face-
book updates. Co-owner Jennifer Frank
noted, “There was not a lot of stocking
up before Sandy down here because I
think people thought it would be anoth-
er Irene and not amount to much.” If so,
they were mistaken.
California Wine Merchants re-
opened on November 6
th
,
but the neigh-
borhood was still a literal disaster zone,
replete with police tape, piles of debris
and huge, loud generators on the street.
Frank added, “We felt incredibly lucky
that our store was untouched when most
everything surrounding us was severely
flooded and damaged. That said, it has
been really tough to get our business
moving because so many of the busi-
nesses and residential buildings are still
dark and our street is like a parking lot
of emergency trucks and caution tape.
It’s slowly returning to something like
normalcy so we just have to keep it all
in perspective and try our best to drum
up some sales.”
Rapid Response
The storm was particularly hard on di-
rectly-hit restaurants as spoilage required
massive reassessments and restocking
even before reopening. Staff logistics—
with so many lives in turmoil—was yet
another problem.
Remarkably, dozens of New York
metro bars and restaurants quickly
moved to support Sandy relief ef-
forts. Some, like ESquared Hospital-
ity (BLT restaurants), donated 5% of
sales throughout November. Many held
fundraising events, often with a very
specific focus. Rouge Tomate, Carmine’s
and Union Square Café created special
cocktails that raised funds. Public and
Saxon & Parole donated a weekend’s
profits directly to kindred restaurant
Governor in DUMBO, Brooklyn. Otto
In Manhattan’s financial district, California Wine
Merchants reopened on November 6, but the
neighborhood was still a disaster zone, replete
with police tape, piles of debris and huge, loud
generators on the street.
In the Wake of Sandy
Epic Damage from the Hurricane
Prompted Epic Response
BY CARA McILWAINE & W. R. TISH
THE DAYS THAT FOLLOWED THE UNPRECEDENTED
STORM WILL BE REMEMBERED AS MUCH
FOR COMMUNITY AND INDUSTRY RESPONSE
AS FOR THE PHYSICAL DAMAGE.