Artist Jared Betts Adds A Splash Of Colour To The Tire Shack Patio
MONCTON – Tire Shack Brewing Co. at 190 John St. has opened its patio, with colourful art to help boost people’s spirit amid a pandemic.
“We figured people right now need a little colour in their life, they need something uplifting,” said co-owner Alan Norman, adding that it also spruces up the brewery and taproom’s parking lot.
“We wanted to make something nice with wood and have a colourful, transformative space where you’re kind of immersed in the art.”
The painting that covers Tire Shack’s patio is made by local artist Jared Betts, whose paintings are also exhibited at Apple Art Gallery and the restaurant Black Rabbit. He says he wants the art to reflect summer vibes, the beverages on tap, and some of his favourite colours.
“Generally I paint on canvas or a wall, so I had to completely shift my mind from wall to ground, and then it became kind of this interactive installation,” he said.
Betts said the project was exciting, as a lot of his projects and art shows have had to move online.
“It’s a different dynamic because it’s hard to connect with people and show them your paintings, it’s different when they’re just seeing it online rather than in a gallery with lots of other people in there,” he said.
But the patio, which Norman built with his spouse and co-owner Jerrica Kennedy, her father and her uncle, is just the first step to Tire Shack’s summer plans.
By mid-to-late June, they plan to have food trucks parked there, and also sell products of Lost and Found Ice Cream, a business owned by local chef Jon Morrison.
“We want to make it a community space, almost like a community market. It’s tough right now because of Covid, but we’re trying to have as much community as possible without people feeling uncomfortable and trying to reinforce the 6 ft. distancing and all that,” Norman said.
“One thing that we found a great positive that came out of Covid was people are so focused on supporting local and being part of the community, and going out of the way to find all these local people that maybe they didn’t always think about, or maybe they did, but now they need to support them more than ever,” he added.
“There’s a really great sense of community right now, and we want to keep holding on to that for as long as possible, and maybe even forever if we can get a change going.”
Tire Shack is operating at half its usual capacity due to Covid-19 restrictions, but Norman said business has been great.
They had to close the taproom for sometime, focusing instead on canning their beers, and continuing releasing new beers to keep people excited.
“We saw a lot more volume through the [NB Liquor] locations, cans-to-go sales were very good and a lot of people support us with the beer delivery that we had in place as well,” he said.
Once the taproom reopened, Norman said customers have been respectful in following the guidelines, and staff has been doing everything to make sure people feel comfortable and safe. There are hand sanitizers on every table, too.
“Luckily with the patio and the way we spaced out our tables inside, we have lots of space,” he said. “It’s as normal as it can be within the circumstances that we currently find ourselves in…People have been cooped up for a couple of months here and people do want to connect again and they want to do it safely.”
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