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Brato Brewhouse & Kitchen will host a mobile vaccination site on August 15
Co-founder Jonathan Gilman said he wants to offer the shot as a "more fun alternative and incentive to make the right choice."
As a growing number of restaurants and bars have started to require proof of vaccination, one local brewhouse is taking a decidedly more direct approach to encourage COVID-19 vaccinations among its customers.
Brato Brewhouse & Kitchen has partnered with the City of Boston to host a mobile vaccination site on August 15, offering guests a shot of the Pfizer vaccine (J&J will also be available for those who prefer the one-and-done option). The Brighton brewery will host another event on September 5 for the second shot. Both times, customers who receive a shot will also get lunch on the house: a free Brato bratwurst.
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Brato co-founder and executive chef Jonathan Gilman told Boston.com that while his brewery would support a proof of vaccination mandate if it were paired with a standardized system, he finds it impractical otherwise.
“We see the current structure of vaccine cards as insufficient to really police,” he shared in an e-mail. “They are very easily faked, lost, fabricated. I think for us, we would be confused on, say, how to handle a party of four with one person not having a photo or copy available. What do we do with families or people that can’t yet receive the vaccine? It would seem like blocking them from indoor entry entirely would be very tough to execute. The lack of consistency from establishment to establishment also feels very difficult to manage, along with the additional staffing necessary to execute.”
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Instead, he’s hoping that Brato’s “Brats and a shot” campaign will encourage a younger demographic to get their vaccine if they haven’t already.
“Our goal on this is getting as many eyes that might be on the fence about the shot a more fun alternative and incentive to make the right choice,” he said.
Brato announced its campaign on social media late last week, and Gilman said that, so far, the response has been overwhelmingly positive.
“I think anyone can see that increase in availability is a positive thing, and I do think people recognize some of the difficulties in trying to police vaccinations without a centralized, standardized database,” he said.
Brato’s mobile vaccination event on August 15 will take place from noon to 4 p.m. on the brewery’s patio. ID or insurance is not required.
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