COVID-19 Plagues Businesses and Now — Misinformation
It started innocently enough when a local Facebook group hatched a plan to inform the Anchorage Assembly and the public that the COVID-19 mandates enacted by the municipality had decimated local Anchorage businesses. The Save Anchorage Facebook group compiled a list of the companies they claim the Assembly closed — seventy of them. One listed business is Birchwood Saloon — but there's just one problem...they aren't permanently closed.
The Birchwood Saloon is a local favorite in Chugiak, Alaska. It's famous for being the eternal home of a poltergeist named Jack — a man said to have been electrocuted on the Saloon's roof. The business is even listed in the directory of the Haunted Places website. The Saloon placed third in an Anchorage Press poll asking readers to vote for the best dive bar in Anchorage, but even customer loyalty can't quickly undo the damage caused by a global pandemic.
Like many businesses, the Birchwood Saloon has struggled and suffered through two hunker-down orders, directly impacting restaurants and bars by stripping them of their in-door dining capacity. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the Saloon temporarily closed more than a few times as they grappled with how to acclimate to Covid-related mandates and COVID-19 itself. As if that weren't enough, the business is now faced with another unexpected battle — the battle of misinformation.
The Save Anchorage flyer, presented at an Anchorage Assembly meeting on Tuesday and broadly circulated and shared across local social media, has raised concerns about the impact the flyer might have on local businesses that were only temporarily closed or that have already reopened.
In the case of Birchwood Saloon — rated the 3rd best dive bar in Anchorage — one person affiliated with the business expressed concern that the flyer might give the impression that the Saloon is indeed closed for good.
A Facebook search for the Saloon shows image after image of the flyer — a potential roadblock to drawing in much-needed customers as the Saloon moves forward with a planned reopening.
The same person associated with the Saloon wrote of the Facebook search: "This is what shows up in the search results now. It's there forever, and all I can do is try to bury them with other tagged photos. The effects of this are exponential."
The owners of Charlou, another local Anchorage business listed on the Save Anchorage "RIP" flyer, reached out to me earlier today asking if I had any direct contact information for anyone affiliated with the Save Anchorage group as they took substantial issue with having their now closed business listed on the flyer.
In an emailed statement, the owners of Charlou told me:
"Charlou is permanently closed, yes. But not because of the Mayor, the mandates, or COVID-19. The COVID-19 mandates that were put into place by (former) Mayor Ethan Berkowitz were understandable and we followed them happily. Safety was our main concern, during the COVID-19 version of Charlou. Our closure had nothing to do with Mayor Ethan Berkowitz or his dutiful response to the global pandemic."
The owners of Charlou also took to their Facebook page today, formally asking the Save Anchorage group to "immediately remove Charlou" from the flyer — not wanting to be associated with the Facebook group that is spreading misinformation about local businesses.
Anchorage Floral is another small business listed on the Facebook group's flyer and verbally mentioned in front of the Anchorage assembly meeting on January 12 — but they are open and taking orders for flower deliveries in advance of Valentine's Day. The Anchorage business takes COVID-19 seriously. All of their drivers wear masks and sanitize thoroughly. The local company has had numerous calls asking if they'd closed down because of the circulating flyer — at a critical time when they're trying to sell flowers for the busy upcoming Valentine's Day holiday.
COVID-19 has unquestionably been exceedingly difficult for businesses and individuals to navigate. Some see the global pandemic as political, while others take it more seriously, abiding by various mandates to protect others. Some businesses listed on the Save Anchorage flyer have noted publicly that they did close due to the pandemic and the business mandates — many others, however, did not.
For surviving local business owners attempting to plot a path forward for their business and livelihood, fighting the age of misinformation is an extra burden they don't need, want, or can even afford.
