Peabody Brewery Forges New Connections Amid Pandemic Challenges

PEABODY, MA — A pandemic that forced everyone apart for nearly a year has brought some Peabody small businesses, North Shore residents and regional non-profits together in some unexpected ways.

Trivia Night was a big deal at Granite Coast Brewing prior to the coronavirus health crisis. Captain's Crew Question Cruise put together all sorts of theme nights — ranging from the 1990s- to 80s Music- to "Parks N Rec"- to "Disney"- to "Die Hard"-themed games that packed in the crowds.

When the taproom closed in March amid the statewide coronavirus shutdown, the crowds were suddenly gone. Even when Granite Coast reopened to outdoor seating and limited indoor service over the summer and fall, those crowds were small and socially distanced.

But Granite Coast Marketing Manager Amy Luckiewicz wanted to try to keep the vibe of the lively taproom going even as the tastings, parties and other typical events went dark. So Granite Coast started doing virtual trivia nights using Captain's Crew.

"We were paying our trivia guy twice a month anyway so we converted that game to being a virtual fundraiser and it stuck," she told Patch. "We said as long as we are doing well enough to afford you, we'll keep doing this. In general, we've been trying to engage as many people who have lost revenue (during the pandemic) as we can when we do plan things."

Granite Coast hosted several trivia night fundraisers, including ones for the Greater Boston Food Bank, One Mission, Peabody Rotary, Behind You Inc. and Timmy's Angels, before Thursday night holding their biggest one yet when the brewery raised more than $1,600 for Last Hope K9 Rescue.

More than 100 increasingly familiar faces played from their homes alongside their own dogs.

"We've wound up meeting people online whom we've become quite good friends with," Luckiewicz said. "We had no intention of it going this far. But now we have regulars online who come into the brewery when they can. That's been a really cool thing."

Luckiewicz said those connections have also come through the food trucks that state mandate requires the brewery to have out front to serve beer on premises — most of which she said are women- and minority-owned — and joint efforts with fellow small businesses struggling to make it through a year of restrictions, stay-at-home advisories and seemingly limitless uncertainty.

"I think it's brought our Main Street businesses closer together," she said. "We are always shouting each other out on social media now and making sure we tag each other as much as possible."

Thursday's trivia night for LastHope K9 — whose mission is to rescue abandoned, neglected and abused dogs from high-kill shelters — was in honor of the puppies that were once a fixture in the taproom and currently not allowed because of pandemic rules.

The next night planned is March 18 with money raised going toward Newhall Fields Community Farms in Peabody.

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After that, if coronavirus indicators continue to improve, the plan is to return a smaller, socially distanced version of trivia to the brewery itself with a "Star Wars"-themed game that will require reservations and strict limits on moving around the taproom.

The hope is that could be the beginning of bringing more of that new universe of connections formed over the past year together at long last.

"One thing that's happened is that this has given us a year to plan," Luckiewicz said. "When I came aboard last October (2019) we had an extensive menu of yearlong events planned. Then COVID happened.

"But in the time since we have been able to strengthen those plans around some stuff we really want to do with local artists, and a photographer launch, and other partnerships we want to explore. We've been able to dip our toe in the water and put a strategy in place to attract more artists and more vendors."

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(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)