No. 85: May/June 2020

My kitchen table, shortly past dawn on a sunny mid-March morning. That’s where and when I’m writing this editor’s note, and while years of freelancing and working remotely have made me familiar with working from home, this morning’s session at the laptop is considerably different.

At the time I’m writing this, people around the world are having their lives upended by the spread of COVID-19. For many of us, regular life’s been thrown topsy-turvy, with schools and offices closed, social distancing the new norm, and shelter-in-place rules in effect in a growing number of cities. For others, though, things are much more difficult—from those stricken with the virus and their families in quarantine, to health-care workers putting themselves at risk while helping those in need, and the many billions worldwide who are experiencing the unexpected impact of societies in sudden distress.

Among those impacted are the bartenders and the baristas, the brewers and the winemakers, and the thousands upon thousands who together create the dynamic drinks world we cover here at Imbibe. These people are our subjects and our sources for the stories we bring you, but they’re also our colleagues and our friends. The sudden shutdown of bars, cafés, pubs, and restaurants worldwide, along with the economic turmoil that’s taken hold in recent days, means that many of these friends and colleagues are facing very different futures. It’s impossible to predict what this changed culinary landscape will look like when this magazine reaches you in May, but all signs suggest that it may be months before many of these places are back up and running, and many others will almost certainly close forever.

That’s heartbreaking for us, but we’d like to ask for your help. When this crisis finally passes—and that’s a when, not an if—please frequent your local bars, cafés, and restaurants, and help provide these small businesses with the warm welcome (and the economic fuel) they need to get back up and running. In the meantime, visit imbibemagazine.com to find out ways you can contribute financially to help hospitality workers in this time of crisis, and give them the support they need.

There are better days ahead. Until then, take care of yourselves, and each other.