"this hasn't been done before, so it can't be done"

Via Ann Williams writing on the Pour Richard's Facebook page

Inertia-noun 

A tendency to do nothing or to remain unchanged.

"Inertia, or maintaining the status quo, can be a good thing. If you're hiking up the side of a mountain, you want the rocks to stay put. But business is different; if you are standing still, there are 5 other businesses that aren't. By standing still, you're actually losing ground.

At Pour Richard's, we take the path less traveled. Instead of selling the heavily advertised brands you find in the big box stores, we feature wines, beers, and spirits from small producers. The best part of my job is finding exciting new products- a new nanobrewery in Northampton, a better version of an Irish Cream- and then translating that excitement to our customers.

We do that by tasting, by talking, and hopefully, occasionally by pairing the wine (beer, cocktail) with the food that it was meant to accompany. It's a great way to introduce our customers to something new. It's also fun.

Our customers-wonderful, adventurous, fun people-have embraced this approach. Franklin has been an absolutely awesome place to do business-with one small exception: food.

When we have a product or an event that we feel would be enhanced by food, we'd like to do it legitimately: file a food safety plan, pay the town $50, and post a limited license to serve samples. Recently, we tried to do just that. I received my Servesafe food safety certification, filed an extensive food safety plan, and applied for permission to serve samples of Brazilian BBQ with caipirinhas. But Franklin does not currently allow non-food businesses to apply for these one-day permits. After several mostly cordial conversations with the town's health inspector, the only discernible reason for this seems to be inertia: this hasn't been done before, so it can't be done.

sometimes it just feels like this....

We understand that resisting inertia can be uncomfortable. But progress and growth don't happen without stepping out of the comfort box. If we've complied with all of the safety codes, why can't we receive a permit? Is inertia a good reason to say no?"

#shopFranklin