Sake Lessons – #sakeisessential
We debated on sending out our regular True Sake Newsletter this month, because of all that is going on in our shelter-in-home lives. Things are indeed crazy-town. But it’s important to remember what is real in these surreal times. This Newsletter and awesome sake readers are very real. You all have been real for the past 17 years of the store being open, and you have been real for the past 188 months of reading this uninterrupted True Sake Newsletter. That’s right! We have not missed one month in the past 15 1/2 years. This represents the longest continuous active publication streak in the English-speaking sake world. But is that really important? Yes, and I’ll tell you why!
From the moment that we were told to stop doing business by Mayor Breed and San Francisco City Hall, and “all non-essential services must be closed,” we felt that we are doing our part to keep people safe and alive. So we sent out an email to all of you saying that starting March 16th we would be closed until April 7th. And yes, that’s when all of the email words of kindness and offers to give us money, buy lots of gift certificates, and make huge orders for when we would eventually open up started coming in. We heard you. And we continue to hear you, so much so that after a week of being closed we realized that sake IS essential. We re-opened in a limited capacity to heed the call of people who saw sake as being as essential as other things. Sake has a meaning! It has a different meaning to each of us, but it does have a meaning and that is why we wanted to send out this Newsletter!
Due in large part to our skeleton crew, and very limited operating hours I’ve decided to reduce the typical Newsletter into one that is shorter and more focused on what we can get to our customers. We are experiencing some shortages of packaging materials, and may even have to pivot to other materials for the short term. But our supply of sake is strong and continues to be so. Thank you for reading the True Sake Newsletter and most of all thank you for your support!