On the morning of February 26, 2020, Shahin Khojastehzad, general manager and co-owner of Novare Res Bier Café in Portland, Maine, woke to a slew of messages and congratulatory notifications. The venue had just been named a James Beard Award Semifinalist in the Outstanding Bar Program category.
This recognition seemed to be a good omen for the year ahead. But soon after the announcement, Novare Res joined establishments across the country in navigating lockdown, closing temporarily, and abiding by strict pandemic measures. Like other shuttered bars, breweries, and taprooms, Novare Res set up a grocery store-style pick-up option, offering rare cellar selections alongside essential goods like cheap toilet paper. Khojazstehzad and his team also doubled down on Novare-branded merchandise, sourced from local vendors and artists.
Throughout the pandemic’s trials and tribulations, Khojastehzad used social media to provide an unfiltered view into the day-to-day reality of a venue struggling to survive in 2020. More recently, he posted his staff’s voted decision to remain open, and enumerated the safety measures put in place to allow the bar to operate with care and attention.
Khojastehzad is widely recognized as a pillar in both Maine’s hospitality industry and its immigrant community. He has spoken openly about his upbringing in the Pine Tree State as an Iranian-American, and has communicated the importance of Novare Res being a space that is welcoming to all. The bar’s name in Latin means “to start a revolution,” and Khojastehzad is among those people taking small, incremental steps to elevate the beer industry as a whole, as well as those around him.
Words,Samer Khudairi