Picaroons Launches Local Gift Card Kindness Campaign
FREDERICTON–A local brewer in Fredericton is paying it forward for the province’s embattled business community, as it recovers from the economic ravages of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Picaroons Brewing Company has launched a “random acts of foodness” campaign, handing out gift cards for 100 local restaurants in a bid to help an industry hit hard by reduced capacity limits, closures, and reductions of service.
“I was talking to some of downtown Fredericton’s merchants who told me how good they feel when people buy things from them these days and how nice it is to be supported,” Picaroons Owner Sean Dunbar said in an interview with Huddle before the Family Day long weekend.
“I figured we’d go do some direct support for 100 different restaurants in the Fredericton area and encourage folks to get out and start eating in restaurants again. I thought it was great timing to encouraged people to get into those restaurants,” he added.
Dunbar hopes the initiative, which launched Feb. 16, will go provincial. Random Acts of Foodness begins just as the province enters Level-1 health restrictions and the province’s hospitals have a better handle on Covid-19 cases. It also coincides with Random Acts of Kindness Day.
“Owners and staff need a lift–it’s been a long, hard two years for everyone even remotely associated with the hospitality business,” Dunbar said. “The thing that will lift them up is people coming through the door.”
Random Acts of Foodness will run for 33 days, with three cards given a day to people who “like” and share the campaign on Facebook.
The gift cards, valued at between $24 and $35, are from businesses participating in the Dine Around Freddy campaign.
Dine Around Freddy, a promotion hosted by Tourism Fredericton, runs from Feb. 17 to March 13, offering three-course dinners at 25 of the city’s restaurants for $35 per person.
“We thought it was cool that we’re coming out around the same time as Dine Around Freddy because it’s a good time to encourage people to get out and participate at the same time–it all ran together quite nicely,” Dunbar said.
“It makes me feel good and it makes the folks at Picaroons feel good. My sales guys felt really good buying something instead of selling something. It’s neat and we all need a lift right now.
“Hopefully someone gets a gift card from us, invites others to a local restaurant and they all go out, talk and lift each other up. That’s what the hospitality business is all about.”
When asked how things have been for Picaroons, Dunbar said “we’ll say we came out on the other side of the pandemic.”
“Struggles continually ensue, but this is something we felt we wanted to do. It’s not a celebration of excess accumulated – more of a sigh of relief,” he said.
Picaroons has about 45 people on its payroll during a normal season. While the number of staff working at its three locations in Fredericton, Saint John, and St. Stephen aren’t all working at this time, Dunbar hopes to get back up to the full complement – or more – by summer.
Sam Macdonald is a Huddle reporter in Moncton. Send him your feedback and story ideas: [email protected].