THE WAKKER WEEKLY
Issue #1528 – Posted on: 11-May-2020
BUSHWAKKER NEWS
Thank you Regina! After a six week hiatus, we re-opened our kitchen service with a limited takeaway menu last Friday and Saturday. We were very happy to see so many of you who stopped by for some of our award-winning brewpub cuisine. We very much appreciate your enthusiastic support and your patience as we began a new type of food service in a new world. We had opened the previous three Saturday afternoons for offsale beer purchases but this was a whole new experience! We tried to prepare as best we could for a level of business which we could not accurately predict. We were definitely on a learning curve and will now be able to provide smoother service moving forward. We are very excited to open our kitchen with a new takeout menu on Friday, May 8th and Saturday, May 9th from 3:00 PM – 7:00 PM. Our offsale beer cooler will also be fully stocked at these times! No cash please. No growler fills. As part of our social distancing measures, customers will be required to enter the brewpub from the north entrance of the building and then exit through our front doors. Takeout food orders can be placed by calling us at 306-359-7276 starting at noon each day. Sorry, no delivery service is available. We look forward to seeing you again…from a two meter distance of course! We will monitor your response to these expanded services and will make adjustments based on demand. Our second limited takeout weekend menu offerings are found below.
Thanks to the many folks who stopped by last weekend to enjoy our takeaway pub cuisine. Your patience and good social distancing behaviour was much appreciated!
THIS WEEK’S BUSHWAKKER TAKEOUT MENU
Friday, May 8th and Saturday, May 9th: Kitchen open 3:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Phone: 306-359-7276 starting at noon each day to place food orders.
SIGNATURE FISH AND CHIPS $20.95
Our most popular dish! Stubblejumper Pilsener battered cod fillets, served with handcut fries and fresh tartar sauce.
CHICKEN FINGERS $15.50
Tender pieces of breaded chicken with our honey dill dip. Served with your choice of handcut fries or Caesar salad.
GOURMET PIZZAS
Prepared with our own handmade herbed pizza crust. No substitutions please. Sorry, no gluten-free crust at this time.
GREEK $16.95
Spinach, feta and chicken.
VENETIAN $16.95
Spicy Italian sausage, mushroom, hot pepper, tomato, fresh basil, roasted garlic, mozzarella and Asiago cheese.
SANDWICHES & CLASSIC BURGERS*
REUBEN 4OZ-$16.95 | 8OZ-$20.95
Smoked beef and sauerkraut with melted Swiss on marble rye. Served with grainy mustard on the side.
CUBAN SANDWICH $16.95
Citrus roast pork, ham, pickles, Swiss and mustard on house-made flat bread. Pressed to a crispy finish.
WAKKER BURGER $16.95
Topped with cheddar, bacon, lettuce, tomato and red onion. Choose from beef or bison patties made on premises.
WILD BOAR BURGER $18.95
100% Canadian wild boar topped with fire-roasted red pepper relish, bacon and aged white cheddar.
VEGGIE BURGER $16.95
This housemade patty is both gluten-free and vegan. Made from black beans, sweet potatoes and brown rice. Seasoned with smoked paprika and cumin. Topped with fresh jalapeno and curried cilantro mayo. Add mushrooms, bacon or cheese $2.00 each
*All sandwiches and burgers are served with a side of handcut fries or Caesar salad. Gluten-free bun $2.00.
FAMOUS HANDCUT BUSHWAKKER FRIES $7.95 GRAVY $3.00
PEANUT BUTTER CHOCOLATE FUDGE CHEESECAKE $8.50
Our extremely popular O’Henry Cheesecake sold out in just over an hour last weekend. On May 8th and 9th we will offer Peanut Butter Chocolate Fudge Cheesecake and will more than double our production!
Please continue to practice your safe social distancing practices and remain connected to one another and to us! Yes, we do indeed miss you! Try to support local businesses whenever possible. Be vigilant in your resolve to protect yourselves which in turn will protect others. The more disciplined we are at being separated now, the sooner we will all be together again later!
Two litre bottles of Bushwakker Chico IPA and Dungarvon Irish Red Ale are now available for home delivery with the help of fellow Regina craft brewers, Pile O’ Bones Brewing. To place your order, just visit www.saskbeerdelivery.ca Don’t forget all six Regina SLGA stores offer a selection of Bushwakker bottled beers.
In this new normal, it is comforting to embrace the beauty our local artists create. We are very pleased to resume our monthly local artist showcase series and share the talents found in our community. The Bushwakker LOCAL ARTIST WALL for the month of May features the works of JEFF HAMON. Have a look at his work while picking up your takeaway Bushwakker beer and food all this month! His artist bio is as follows:
Jeff Hamon is a guy with a camera in Regina, SK who creates fine art/landscape and portrait images. He approaches photography with the slogans “Any camera is a tool to create a final image. The best camera is the one you have with you.” and “There’s beauty around you every day, in everything. Now let’s find it.” Frequent and favoured subjects for his camera are the previously-inhabited homesteads of the prairies and the stories they have to share. We are in a challenging time right now, no doubt about it. A lot of us are seeing ‘the same four walls’ and longing for some socialization and ‘the outside world.’ Both in the present and the past, we have looked out our doors and windows to see what’s happening in the neighbourhood, to check the weather, to dream, to make sure the kids or dog are still within sight, or to enjoy a sunrise or sunset. This month, Jeff has focused (pun intended) on Doors and Windows, the portals in and out of our homes and shelters. To paraphrase from Aldous Huxley, “discover a world of visionary beauty” by looking out your doors and windows. It’s there. All day and every day. Take time, each day, to look for the beauty in the world around us and to appreciate it. During his Bushwakker display, Jeff is donating $15 from each art piece sold to the Saskatchewan Heart & Stroke Foundation and is giving away a 16×20 print to one lucky person in his #filltheframecontest giveaway. Follow his website (www.jeffhamonphotography.ca) and social media accounts (Facebook: Jeff Hamon Scenic Fine Art Photography, Instagram: Jeff Hamon Photography) to see more photos and read about the displayed pieces. Thanks once again to the Bushwakker management and staff for providing a space for local artists to display their work!
Saskatchewan Craft Breweries Fighting to Stay Afloat During Coronavirus Pandemic
BY: RYAN KESSLER GLOBAL NEWS REGINA
A new survey of Saskatchewan craft breweries highlights the hardships brought on the by the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Roughly 65 per cent of craft brewery staff have been laid off since COVID-19 struck the province. Half of the 12 respondents expected April 2020 revenue to be down by 50 per cent or more compared to April 2019.
“We’ve already had one brewery that has reported that they have closed and ceased operations,” said Mark Heise, Saskatchewan Craft Brewers Association president.
“Several others are right on the brink right now.”
Saskatchewan beer-makers have been forced to innovate, including through an online ordering and delivery system. They have also launched collaboration beers and shared packaging and ingredients.
More than 40 per cent of breweries stated they won’t qualify for the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy. The subsidy formula is based on revenue in January and February — two of the slowest months for beer sales.
Cash flow continues to be a major issue. Four out of 12 surveyed breweries said they only have enough cash to keep business going for less than two months.
“It’s a very new industry, it’s a very capital-intensive industry and it’s a very grassroots industry,” said Heise, who is also the president and CEO of Rebellion Brewing Company.
He said initially, Saskatchewan craft brewers were ineligible for the province’s Small Business Emergency Payment Plan because operations weren’t forced to close entirely. However, with taprooms, restaurants and bars shuttered, the province changed course.
As of Thursday, 17 breweries had received a total of $79,000 under the program, according to the Ministry of Trade and Export Development. SLGA has deferred the production levy for all craft alcohol until the health emergency has ended and the authority’s operations return to normal.
“The government recognizes the challenges facing many businesses and will continue to engage with the business community and consider further options,” said a statement from Ashley Schoff, spokesperson for the trade and export development ministry.
Nationally, breweries are seeking a three-month deferral on excise duties – essentially a sin tax breweries pay based on their production levels.
“It’s not really a handout. It’s just to help with our cash flow,” said Rick Dalmazzi, executive director of the Canadian Craft Brewers Association (CCBA).
Dalmazzi said Canada’s Department of Finance is not considering a deferral at this this time. A request for comment to the department was not returned by deadline.
Some breweries have converted to make hand sanitizer, and Dalmazzi said those products also deserve an exemption.
“There are tweaks out there. Generally speaking, we think the government has done a good job. They’ve been responsive,” Dalmazzi said.
Over 90 per cent of Canada’s 1,100 craft breweries opened in the last decade, according to the CCBA. Dalmazzi said the country could start seeing permanent closures if current conditions extend into the summer.
TIME OUT – The Mailman
One Monday morning a mailman is walking the neighborhood on his usual route. As he approaches one of the homes he noticed that both cars were in the driveway. His wonder was cut short by Bob, the homeowner, coming out with a load of empty beer and liquor bottles. “Wow Bob, looks like you guys had one hell of a party last night.” the mailman comments.
Bob in obvious pain replies, “Actually we had it Saturday night. This is the first I have felt like moving since 4:00 am Sunday morning. We had about fifteen couples from around the neighborhood over and it got a bit wild. Hell, we got so drunk around midnight that we started playing, WHO AM I.”
The mailman thinks a moment and says, “How do you play that?”
Well, all the guys go in the bedroom and we come out one at a time with a sheet covering us and only our “privates” showing through a hole in the sheet. Then the women try to guess who it is.”
The mailman laughs and says, “Damn, I’m sorry I missed that.”
“Probably a good thing you did,” Bob responds. “Your name came up four or five times.”
Much thanks to the folks at Outlaw Trail Spirits in Regina’s Warehouse District for keeping us stocked up on their Hooligan’s Hand Wash Santizer. They help keep Rayna, Kristy and our customers safe!
