NEW ORLEANS — The coronavirus pandemic is creating a big demand for a list of items. Near the top is hand sanitizer.
You can scour the stores for some or try making your own. Or you can simply make a purchase from some of the spirit distillers in the city and get some hand santizer free.
At Lula Restaurant & Distillery, the chefs are still making everything from the crawfish mac-and-cheese to blackberry glazed ribs. But the distillers who normally focus on making vodka, gin, and rum are spending as much time — or maybe more — making hand sanitizer.
There’s no seating available inside the restaurant due to the pandemic. But workers will bring your order to the door or your car along with a free bottle of the hand santizer.
On North Caliborne Avenue, Seven-Three Distilling company makes and sells rum, gin, vodka, whiskey and more. But in mid-March, the distillery started making alcohol for its new hand sanitizer. Just like Lula, customers get a free bottle with every purchase.
But beyond the lagniappe for customers, the hand sanitizer is becoming a big part of the distillers’ businesses at they sell it by the gallon to small businesses and even corporations.
The need is so great that they can’t meet the demand. Other materials like bottles are also in short supply.
“Ten days ago, our business was not recognizable, between then and now,” Seven-Three General Manager Tristan Johnson told WGNO of the new hand sanitizer production. “We are learning a new business model as we go. So that comes with sourcing new products, new raw materials, sourcing packaging, pulling it all together and meeting the incredible demand in the market right now.”
