Springfield Business Journal_2020-08-17

$2.00 · SBJ.NET AUG. 17-23, 2020 · VOL. 41, NO. 4 MCKENZIE ROBINSON CAN DO Canned beer is another revenue stream for 4 by 4 Brewing Co. Co-owner Chris Shaffer runs the new line, which recently debuted. Breweries, distillery grow distribution during pandemic  4 by 4 Brewing and Springfield Brewing Co. add canned beer, while Copper Run stretches footprint out of state by Mike Cullinan · mcullinan@sbj.net Two Springfield breweries and a Walnut Shade distillery are making summer moves to grow their distribution reach.  Both 4 by 4 Brewing Co. LLC and Spring- field Brewing Co. have jumped into the canned beer scene to add a new revenue stream in retail amid the coronavirus pan- demic. Cans debuted for 4 by 4 Brewing in July and Springfield Brewing Co. plans a Sept. 1 launch. “All the cans that hit the market that Fourth of July week were sold out within two weeks,” said 4 by 4 Brewing co-own- er Derek Shimeall, of the brewery’s initial 400-case production round. The activity at Springfield Brewing Co. incorporates more than a canned product, as the downtown brewery plans to open an event venue and distillery in the 507 W. Walnut St. building, which formerly housed Missouri Spirits House LLC. Neil and Christina Chanter have owner- ship in both the brewery and Missouri Spir- its, after buying out Scott Shotts’ 9-year-old distillery distribution business earlier this year, said SBC Operations Director Todd Schade. Schade said SBC is combining both busi- nesses. “The entire property will become one address very soon,” he said, referring to 305 S. Market Ave., where the brewery has op- erated since opening in 1997. The distillery, dubbed Ty Iechyd Da, will occupy the back portion of the former Employers try flexibility with changing child care needs Several companies have altered policies for continued remote work as schools reopen this fall by Kathryn Hardison · khardison@sbj.net As the start of the school year quickly ap- proaches, employers are juggling with yet another challenge: employee child care. Springfield Public Schools announced its reopening plan last month for the fall, giving parents the choice to send their children to SPS classrooms for two days a week with three days of virtual learning or to do full-time virtual learning. With either option, parents will need to arrange child care, leaving employers to assess work from home policies. Some say flexibility is key right now. “Our goal is to be as flex- ible with our folks as possible because we want to keep as many as we can,” said Clif Smart, president of Missouri State Univer- sity, which employs roughly 2,200 full-time employees. Smart said most of them will be able to work from home as needed – like when children are home for virtual learning days. “We’ve also authorized everyone to do office hours on Zoom,” he said. “It’s about trying to be as flexible to help get people through this.” Other large employers, such as CoxHealth, Bass Pro Shops and the city of Springfield, have been working with staff to find solutions for the upcoming year. However, about half of the respondents of an SBJ.net poll taken Aug. 6-12 said their em- ployer had not provided op- tions for the fall. Forty-three percent reported they will be allowed to work remotely, while the remainder were of- fered other solutions, such as child care. Nearly 220 people responded to the poll. Flexible policies Springfield’s largest employer, Cox- Health, has relaxed some work policies and even made child care available for its 12,500 employees. Andy Hedgpeth, vice president of human resources, said the SPS decision and CO- VID-19 has made the health system “fully revamp” how it gets work done. “We recently relaxed our remote work policy to say that if you have kiddos at home and you’re having to choose what to do on these flex days when they’re not seated in class, we’re going to let you stay home on those days,” Hedgpeth said of jobs that do not involve in-person patient care. “Our traditional policy would have said you needed to procure child arrangements.” If employees aren’t able to work remotely, CoxHealth an- nounced earlier this month that it would provide space at The Meyer Center for children to learn when they aren’t seated in a classroom. CoxHealth is part- nering with Ozarks Technical Community College and Drury and Evangel universities to tu- tor the kids in K-6 grades. Over 200 children were signed up by press time. Hedgpeth said the program cost to em- ployees is on a sliding scale up to $35 a week, based on their pay levels. And they’re able to apply for assistance through the CoxHealth Employee Heroes Fund, which was established early in the pandemic by the CoxHealth Foundation. The health system is footing the roughly $20,000 weekly bill for the re- mainder of the learning sup- port program, Hedgpeth said, to cover food, additional em- ployees and other operational costs. “We’re looking at this as an investment in our workforce,” he said. Discovery Center of Spring- field Inc. and EnCompass Academy also have announced learning support programs available during the week. Additionally, CoxHealth is re- evaluating positions to see if more can work remotely and officials are asking employ- ees without school-age children to consider changing their work schedules. For some, remote work is still working. Geoffrey Butler, founding partner of BRP Architects, said the company is continuing to work from home this fall, which miti- gates the need to identify child care options. “All of our employees have been able to manage their work and manage their kids See FLEXIBILITY on page 23 See BEVERAGE on page 29 Andy Hedgpeth : CoxHealth’s learning program is an investment in staff. Clif Smart : MSU is being flexible with staff to retain employees.