Harrington, a serial entrepreneur whose companies in southern Maine have a workforce of 800, talked with Mainebiz about how the global health crisis is affecting business, how they’ve pivoted in response, and what may lie ahead.
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Tim Harrington is a Kennebunk-based entrepreneur who wears many hats: Co-founder of Batson River Brewing & Distilling (with Matt Dyer and Kevin Lord); partner and creative director of the Kennebunkport Resort Collection boutique luxury hotel group, recently acquired by New York investment firm EOS Investors LLC; and co-founder of Quest Fitness, which is managed by Richard Evans. The companies have a combined workforce of 800 employees.
Harrington chatted with Mainebiz about how the companies are coping with the crisis, and Batson River’s quick production changeover from spirits to hand sanitizer led by head distiller Jon Quade.
Mainebiz: How is the crisis affecting your business so far?
Tim Harrington: The Vinegar Hill Music Theatre, a beautiful live music venue in Arundel, is our first casualty business-wise. We just cancelled the 2020 season and we won’t be reopening any time in the near term. For now, it is operating as a food pantry for Community Outreach Services, a Kennebunk nonprofit that provides food, fuel and emergency services. That’s our new reality. It’s very sad but I’m heartened by the remarkable teamwork and dedication that’s enabling our theatre to serve the community in a completely different way.
MB: How did Batson River switch to making hand sanitizer so quickly?
TH: People are saying we are health heroes, but it’s really a business story — a creative and determined effort to keep our people working and our doors open. The idea for making hand sanitizer started when we were on a conference call with the managing director of Quest Fitness and he said, “We can’t keep the gym open without sanitizer.” Within a couple hours, our head distiller had a formula for making sanitizer. I feel good about that, my focus is on people’s jobs.
MB: And since then?
TH: Quest ramped up online classes and coaching, and then we moved Quest outdoors. We set up a venue tent, and moved bikes and classes outside. Since then, that’s had to shut, too, but there will be a time when we slowly get back to normal and the outdoor operations will open first. Quest is still in business because they’ve maintained connections with their members who are continuing to pay their dues despite this unprecedented disruption. In our community, people and businesses help each other. It’s those stories that make you feel good.
MB: For whom are you making the new “Use Me” brand of hand sanitizer?
TH: We’re giving it to our police and fire departments and town offices. At the food pantry, we’ll be adding it to all of the food packages that are available for pick up every Friday morning. Here in the Kennebunkport area, our hand sanitizer is available for sale at Bradbury Brothers Market and H.B. Provisions Cafe and Market as well as online. As we increase production, we’ll be fulfilling the dozens of requests we’ve received from area businesses and calling on more area retailers who are still struggling to keep up with consumer demand.
MB: In addition to making hand sanitizer, Batson River is making wood-fired pizza for takeout and delivery. How did that come about?
TH: When we were forced to close the tasting room, we immediately tried to figure out what we could offer for pickup and delivery that was also brand [related]. Beer and pizza was a natural fit. Matt Dyer, a partner at Batson River, reached out to his contacts at Noble Barbecue in Portland to ask if we could borrow the portable pizza oven they operate during the summer months — they wouldn’t even take money for it, and they brought it to us the very next day. When the weather permits, they’re selling 200 pizzas a night. That’s keeping six or seven people employed and our hopes alive for the 9,000-square-foot tasting room we’re building in Portland that is scheduled to open in August.
MB: Finally, what’s your outlook for the hotel business?
TH: I’m an eternal optimist. The thought of not having a season for our community of hotels, our restaurant — I can’t think about that. I’m hoping that in July, August and September it will be safe for people to travel and when they do, they’ll want to be in the clean, fresh air of Maine more than ever. I wish this for my team and all my peers in the hospitality industry who work so hard and contribute so much to Maine’s economy.