Will American Drinking Survive Barmaggedon?

As the coronavirus pandemic continues, Bloomberg Opinion will be running a series of features by our columnists that consider the long-term consequences of the crisis. This column is part of a package on how the pandemic is altering the business of eating and drinking. For more, see Bobby Ghosh on the future of destination dining, Adam Minter on how sanitized street food will hurt the world’s poor, Amanda Little’s interview with the CEO of Beyond Meat and Romesh Ratnesar’s conversation with chef Jean Adamson on her plan for saving her restaurant, Vinegar Hill House.

Who wants to sit or stand in a crowded bar, and shout orders at a bartender or try to hold a conversation above loud music while calculating the airborne dispersal pattern of coronavirus droplets? Right, didn’t think so. As lockdowns ease, Americans are venturing back to their favorite watering holes, but they won’t be drinking as usual. With margins tight and profits dependent on high capacity, many establishments will go out of business. The craft cocktail craze and craft distillery boom may all but deflate.