Glenn Barrington and Anne Herteis of Thunder and Lightning announced that their travelling cocktail bar will be up and running this spring and summer, for those who miss their signature drinks and chat.

Barrington and Herteis made the difficult decision to close the doors of Thunder and Lightning Pub shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic shut down Canada in spring of last year.

The pub’s location on 23 Bridge Street has since been cleared of its signature couches and taxidermy wildlife, and replaced with a vaporizer store named “The Vapour Trail.”

While Thunder and Lightning no longer has a physical presence in the community, Barrington says the spirit of the bar will be kept alive in the coming year.

Now, with vaccines on the horizon and more knowledge of how COVID-19 spreads, the pair are tentatively accepting bookings for events in the spring and summer.

Barrington and Herteis had a soft launch for T&L’s travelling cocktail bar on March 9th last year, just days before COVID-19 lockdown.

The cocktail bar is meant to be mobile in order to travel to and from events, such as weddings or private parties, and provide drinks and banter on the go.

Barrington's full comments are available here:

The travelling cocktail bar was intended to be an extension of Thunder and Lightning pub, and was funded in part by a Renaissance Sackville grant.

Barrington is optimistic about the travelling cocktail bar, in part due to the grant and low overhead.

Part of the reason why Thunder and Lightning closed in May of 2020 was due to financial strain, Barrington says.

Like many small businesses, Barrington and Herteis have debt accumulated from operating the business.

He says there is no way they could have managed the loss of business due to COVID-19 on top of debt accumulation.

Sackville’s small businesses, he says, are likely struggling to stay afloat during the pandemic.

He says that "it’s really hard for small businesses in the town of this size to make a go. Anybody that’s still open right now and that has been open throughout the pandemic… I can only imagine it’s been incredibly challenging."

As for reopening the bar, Barrington says "in a perfect world, sure. But right now, I just don’t know what that looks like."