Struggles and Hope: The Future of a Small Bar During the Pandemic

This week, The Daily is revisiting some of our favorite episodes of the year and checking in on what has happened in the time since they first ran.

When Jack Nicas, a technology reporter for The Times, first moved to California five years ago, he set about finding a local bar of choice. Unpretentious, cheap and relaxed, the Hatch fit the bill.

Over six months during the coronavirus pandemic, he charted the fortunes of the bar and its staff members as the lockdown threatened to upend the success of the small business.

Today, Jack checks in with the bar’s owner — Louwenda Kachingwe, known to everyone as Pancho — to see what has happened since we last heard from him in the fall.

Guest: Jack Nicas, a technology reporter for The New York Times.

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Background reading:

• Here’s the full article about the Oakland tavern and its staff members as they try to weather the fallout from the pandemic.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily

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