Just take each day as it comes – thinking about the days and weeks to come makes it a hundred times worse!
David spent most days either at his own bar, La Osita, or going to other people’s bars. Now he’s at home with his poodle and fiancé, cooking more than ever, and drinking beer out on his terrace. He’s compiled a list of ways we can help our favorite local spots survive and just set up his own initiative, Craft Contra Covid, in which 50% of sales of certain beers will be donated to a charity helping young people out of this crisis.
David Ross has been living in Madrid (this time!) for a year and a half or so. Together with his business partner Patrick, they’ve set up Oso Brew Co, a brewery focused on brewing refreshing craft beers, and La Osita, a pub in La Latina. You can read all about it in this Naked Madrid article.
What was your life like just before the lockdown vs. today?
Before lockdown I spent most days either working at our bar or out and about at other bars, brewing or in other beer-related activities… all of which is now basically off limits! So, this is by far the longest I’ve not been behind – or sitting at – a bar for a very long time, so it’s safe to say my life has completely and utterly changed.
How are you coping?
I spend a lot more time cooking than I used to. It’s something I’ve always enjoyed – and done a lot of – but there are some things, such as marinating overnight, making cakes and using more weird and wonderful ingredients that I usually can’t be bothered to do. Not a problem now! I’d recommend pushing your culinary boundaries, some recipe suggestions include Guinness Cake (substituting the black stuff for our Porter!), anything from Sabrina Ghayour, Dave Chang’s Bo Ssam, as well as just ordering pre-cooked stuff from the guys at Kitchen 154 to heat up at home!
Also, support local shops – butchers, bakers, greengrocers – they need you; the big supermarkets are going to come out the other side of this, many small shops won’t.
What goals are you hoping to achieve as our time in lockdown continues?
Given we’re now looking at another month in quarantine, setting some goals is becoming pretty crucial! Not something I’m usually good at, but I think I’ve got three key aims: firstly, to make sure the bar & brewery comes out of this stronger; secondly, to read all the books I can as I usually don’t get round to it; and thirdly, to learn a new skill that I would never usually have the time and inclination to do (skill TBC).
How has the lockdown impacted your industry?
Bars, cafes, restaurants and the wider world of food and drink is one of the industries most affected by the lockdown. The current crisis is going to have a huge impact both in the short and long term with hundreds of venues closing the shutters permanently, and many others stuck with very significant legacy financial issues.
If you want to help your favourite local spots survive, there are some great websites where you can buy now to enjoy later – for example Cuando Volvamos and Salvemos Nuestros Restaurantes. Takeaway and delivery are of course also a way in which you can keep some money flowing into the coffers of hard-stretched hostelería – as a shameless plug we’ve (literally) just launched a web shop for our beers and merchandise. We’re also trying to keep the pub atmosphere alive (virtually) and are running a pub quiz every Friday night via Instagram Live (@laositamadrid)!
What’s the first thing you’ll do once this lockdown is over?
As much as Madrid is a great city to live in, it’s pretty urban and lacking in greenery (particularly with the parks closed!) so the first thing I’ll be doing is getting out of Madrid into the mountains. Then I’ll be straight down to a/our bar to have a drink and see someone other than my fiancé and dog (no offence to them)…
Do you have any tips for how we can help those in need?
As much as we’re all going to find the coming weeks and months challenging, it’s going to have a much more significant impact on the most vulnerable in our society. People already living day-to-day or month-to-month will be struggling even more than usual to buy food and to scrape by. Websites such as Goteo and MiGranoDeArena offer great ways to help specific projects, and there are plenty of charities that you can support directly.
We’ve just started our own campaign – Craft Contra Covid – which means we’ll be donating 50% from the sales of certain beers to a charity that will help support young people to come out of the other side of this crisis – we’ve got bigger plans for the coming weeks as well with this campaign so watch this space.
Who are you in quarantine with? Any advice for people in your similar situation?
I’m quarantined with my fiancé Sarah and our 1-year old poodle puppy Freya, so I’m pretty lucky to have great company and non-stop puppy entertainment. My tip in general terms would be just to take each day as it comes – thinking about the days and weeks to come makes it a hundred times worse!
If you could tell the government one thing right now, what would it be?
Of course, the Government is rightly focused right now on giving every support possible to the health service to try and address the spread of this awful disease and the terrible impact it’s having on people all over the country. But I think they also need to act as quickly as possible to provide more direct support to combat the devastating economic impact of the crisis – for people and for businesses. Loans, delayed tax payments and complicated support schemes are window dressing that will just paper over the cracks – they will not save many individuals and businesses from ruin.
A temporary universal basic income and a direct grant to every PYME affected would be a good start and would protect livelihoods and support families in a very direct and impactful way. Tying everyone up in reams of bureaucracy is not going to help anyone but the gestores!
What’s going on in your hometown and would you like to send them a message?
London is pretty much is the same boat as Madrid, so just keep on keeping on.
- Follow La Osita on IG: @laositamadrid and Facebook
- Check out their website where you’ll also find a link to their new initiative: Craft Contra Covid
