#tiny triumphs

[serenityquest]

[thisiswhereitisatsblog]

100 Little wins in life.

a blog about parenting, autism and lifestyle.

[loquaciousbreviloquence]

Depression Den Defeated

For months I have struggled to tackle the issue at hand. Each day I would try to take small steps, but still, it grew. It has been clear for a long time now that this is not something I can handle on my own.

I finally built up the courage to ask for help.

This alone is a big step for me.

In a single day, we tackled the overwhelming majority of the mess. All that remains are bits and bobs we broke down into small tasks. Little things that aren't urgent. By taking care of one little thing each day, I can build some habits, all things willing. Or something. Best laid plans and all that jazz.

For the time being, I am excited, I am hopeful, and at least a little proud of myself for reaching out to ask for help, even if it was a bit late.

And now for something completely different

[2022-502-ethangeers]

Interview with Alisdair McKenzie, July 21st 2022

Me: Can you give us a little bit of background on who you are and what you do?

Alisdair: Well, my name is Alisdair McKenzie and I am a part owner of Tiny Triumphs in Devonport.

Me: Would you say Tiny Triumphs is a craft beer bar?

Alisdair: No, not really. I don’t see it as a craft beer bar, I just see it as a bar. A really good bar that anybody could come to. I’ve always disliked the ‘craft beer’ category because it stinks of elitism and states some can’t come some people can and you can only come if you like craft beer, which is definitely not true of this bar. Anybody can come. You can come here and smash back a corona and we fucking love it.

Me: You have previously stated that you aren’t a fan of the word ‘craft’.

Alisdair: No I don’t. It’s all just beer. I don’t judge. If you prefer Heineken, then have a Heineken.

Me: When you were looking to buy into a hospitality business, what drew you towards Tiny Triumphs?

Alisdair: I saw it as a neat, tidy business that just makes a lot of sense. It’s a really well set up space. It also operates with relatively low wage costs which is almost unheard of in the Hospitality sector. 20% wage costs is really low, comparatively. It seemed liked a really cool project which I could jump in and improve upon.

Me: Do you think it has changed since you bought into it?

Alisdair: I believe it has changed, yeah. The clientele has shifted overtime and I think it’s been an organic kind of thing where people have left Devonport or had kids and other people have come and we’ve attracted more individuals. There is definitely less of a sense of one group of regulars and more individual regulars who get along.

Me: You’ve also contributed to a change in the live music scene locally. How would you describe that change?

Alisdair: Well I went to Hamilton a few years ago and it was the last Friday before Christmas and everyone was trying to lay on entertainment in all the bars. Everywhere we went they just had some bloke on an acoustic guitar wailing covers into a microphone and I thought, “It’s bloody awful.” It was like everybody wanted to sit down and talk but you couldn’t and nobody was paying attention to the music, it was just kind of an annoying background sound. So it made me think that if you’re going to do live music you have to market the music as a gig and get a band in, turn the volume up and shift it to the main focus of the night. And since we’ve started this philosophy it has worked for us, with people looking forward to the gigs we put on.

Me: What do you think sets Tiny Triumphs apart from other bars?

Alisdair: I rarely go to a bar where it is so easy to feel at home like it is here. It has a better ambiance and feel about it than a lot of other places. The staffing structure means there is always a familiar face and whoever is working creates a shift and ambiance based off their own personality. It’s very easy to feel relaxed and it kind of feels like you could be in somebodies living room.

Me: What do you think has been the biggest struggle for small bars in general over the covid-19 epidemic?

Alisdair: Just staying afloat. The lack of ability to forward plan. The first lockdown was damaging but the government was pretty good at releasing funds as it was a new thing, so we had that support plus a bit of savings in the bank to help push us through. The there were the restrictions after that and when we did open up again we were unable to operate immediately as we normally do. How we get money is through live music and being as busy as possible but all of a sudden we are being told people have to be distanced and sitting down, wearing masks and doing table service which is completely not how we normally run the business. So all of a sudden what would normally be about 15k a week becomes 8k and that’s a huge drop. Then restrictions lifted and we managed to start to claw back again, making up some of the lost revenue and starting live music again and suddenly it comes back again. The last lockdown was terrible because literally every week they’d extend it without giving any indication of how or when it would stop and the money we got basically just covered our rent and wages.

Me: Do you think each lockdown it has taken longer to come back?

Alisdair: Yeah I do. The last lockdown ended because they realized they couldn’t beat it that way, it was kind of a failed philosophy. So we stopped it and we all went back to work and then everybody got Omicron and we had 3 months of being really dead and having staff and customers sick constantly.

Me: Do you think we are approaching where you’d like to be again?

Alisdair: Almost. We’ve had a few good weeks and a few average weeks but still people are getting sick and avoiding coming out. We tried to book a band recently but had to cancel because somebody was sick and this kind of thing keeps happening. Plus there are factors like inflation where they printed money to pay for the lockdowns which is now raring it’s head and stopping people spending as much.

Me: Do you think the Hospitality Industry has been affected long-term by the pandemic?

Alisdair: Yeah, 100% it has been. It depends what the government does next but so many businesses have taken on unreasonable amounts of debt to stay afloat and this will need to be paid back. So if there is assistance from the government like writing off a years worth of GST debt or something, maybe it’d help businesses get back on track and make some money. But it has definitely been hugely damaging.

Me: What do you think the industry needs over the next few months to get back to normal?

Alisdair: I think government support would help financially, but other than that they just need to stop spreading fear. And people need to get out again and support local bars, have fun, spend money and be social.

Me: What are your plans for the future of Tiny Triumphs?

Alisdair: Once we have paid off the debts we incurred during the pandemic, we’d like to start developing the bar, install a proper kitchen and increase our opening hours and try take advantage of when the tourist industry starts up again.

[circe-poetica]

with “Can you hear me” ,again

[pxlnik]

so yesterday i made the FAFSA deadline without even knowing the FAFSA deadline. yUSS.

[donkeykingfattiddy]

I just realized i got through an extremely stressful day without wanting to smoke, hurt myself, drink heavy, or any other not great coping mechanisms. . .

. . .so yay?

[overtherisingstar]

I couldn't find the charger for my eReader, so I took the charger for my playstation controller, mixed it with part of the charger for my iPhone (so I wouldn't have to turn on my computer for the USB) and then plugged everything in. And it worked. Excuse me while I revel in my moment of tiny triumph.