Businesses get creative to make a buck and keep workers employed

Businesses get creative amid pandemic As the pandemic worsens, more and more people are struggling to stay afloat – but some businesses are finding creative ways to keep the money coming in.

VANCOUVER — A lot of stores are running low on some supplies but that doesn’t mean you have to go without. Can’t find eggs on the shelf? Try your local restaurant.  Many are selling a lot more than just to-go items listed on the menu.

“We could use every dollar and every cent we can,” said Rob Pawley, co-owner of OEB,a popular breakfast spot in Vancouver.

OEB is selling free-run eggs in flats of 30 for $15.50 and customers have been snapping them up. The restaurant sold 85 flats just last week alone.

In addition to meals, OEB is also selling coffee beans, organic bread, smoked bacon, ham and sausages.

Hans Potter had just stopped for breakfast to go and was encouraged by what he saw.

“Well we’re pretty thankful cause we’re running out of breakfast stuff and we’re like, 'Ah!'” he said.

Other restaurants like 6 Degrees Eatery in Vancouver’s Coal Harbour are also selling grocery supplies.

And on the weekend B.C. relaxed liquor laws to allow restaurants to sell sealed bottles of alcohol.

Homer St. Café and Bar in downtown Vancouver is selling half-priced price bottles of wine and $4 cans of beer to go with their rotisserie chicken meals.

“Our regulars are coming. They’re supporting us,” said manager Alain Canuel.

He says many are coming to buy their favourite wines that they can’t find at the liquor stores.

Canuel hopes that the rules could be relaxed further to allow for cocktails in take away containers too.  New York State has allowed restaurants to do that but so far B.C. isn’t prepared to go that far, just yet.

In another creative move, Parallel 49 Brewing had been preparing to fill its beer cans with hand sanitizer and now the government has given the nod for distilleries and breweries to branch out to produce alcohol based sanitizer.

This type of innovation is filling a need and helping businesses find new revenue streams. The label on the Parallel 49’s beer cans containing hand sanitizer will state, “We are all in this together.”

So far OEB has been able to remain open but has only been able to keep six out of 36 employees working.  It hopes to be able to hold on until the crisis is over but it will need the support of the community to do that.

“I couldn’t imagine anything more important. We don’t want to come out of this and have a bunch of places be shuttered and closed,” said Potter as he and his partner along with their newborn baby Wayne, headed back to their condo with their to-go bag.