How a New Orleans bar crawled out of Hurricane Ida with a Bluetooth speaker, a power generator, and $1 beers

• Pepp's Pub is a New Orleans bar that's weathered the COVID-19 pandemic and several hurricanes.
• That includes Hurricane Ida, which recently hit the area and caused the bar to temporarily close.
• The owners of the bar told Insider how they prepped for the hurricane and emerged from it.

Sam and Kait Wurth, who run Pepp's Pub in New Orleans' Marigny neighborhood, have lived through COVID-19 and a number of hurricanes - including the recent Category 4 Hurricane Ida.

With hurricanes, businesses like Pepp's Pub go through two distinct stages: prepping for the storm and then managing its aftermath. Sam Wurth told Insider hurricane prep starts with stopping anything from becoming flying debris.

"We're lucky that we're in an old brick building which is fairly hurricane-proof, so the prep we did for the bar involved taking down the umbrellas and string lights, moving planters inside and securing the trash cans," he said.

After that, it's largely a matter of waiting for the storm to hit - though for seasoned New Orleanians, that often involves getting in one last drink.

"The biggest question from our customers was, 'What time are you closing?'" he said. "We usually close at about 2 a.m., but the night before it arrived, we closed at 10 p.m. Our priority was making sure everyone was home and safe."

Power outages from the hurricane are devastating for small business owners and workers

Ida's 150 mph winds toppled a major transmission tower, meaning 1 million homes and businesses could be without power for weeks. Plus, a number of large festivals have been canceled in a city still reeling from damage to the tourism industry from COVID-19.

With more than 10% of the city working in hospitality, the aftermath of the hurricane will be long for many small businesses and workers.

"I'll probably be looking at losing $30,000," Wurth said, taking into account lost revenue while still having to pay rent and other bills. "I feel really really bad for my staff. We have a small staff of six, and all but one chose to leave town.

"I'll always support their decision to evacuate. Life comes before bartending."

Trying to operate without power is not sustainable

When Hurricane Zeta came through in October 2020, it knocked out power in the area for five days. Wurth was able to open Pepp's as a place for people to gather, relax, and charge their phones.

"I really want to be that neighborhood spot that's open throughout this mess, but I just don't see it being sustainable," Wurth said. "If we're talking about no power for weeks, it would mean that every day I'm going to have to get gas for the generator. The feasibility of getting ice is going to be really tough."

Gas queues are long as people look to escape the city, and Wurth would have to transport the generator home every day for power, as it's impossible to sleep without air conditioning or fans.

"We'd still have to close in the dark, so I'd be doing $500 to $600 in sales per day," Wurth said. "It doesn't make much sense."

The city needs to improve its communication

Wurth said the communication from the city has been poor, with people receiving their energy bills while they still had no power from Ida.

"I wish that there was better messaging from the people in charge," Wurth said. "I think that it would make a big difference for small businesses and workers here.

"My dream is my bar, and I wanted to make [staying open] work during this time, but I just don't see a way that it makes any sense."

Information about the power outages was scarce, and many locals were leaving town to stay in hotels where they can work and stay in air conditioning.

"Compared to most city services, social media is more up to date," he said. "It gives more real time, boots-on-the-ground information. That's a bad state of affairs."

The only thing left to do is throw a party to get rid of stock

In the great New Orleans tradition of celebration through adversity, on Tuesday after the storm, Pepp's Pub threw a party to drink down supplies. Wurth opened up a hurricane sale from noon until dark with $1 beers and $2 shots.

"It's probably the best part of the story, because now I've got to give away beer," he said. "It's a perishable product that's going to go bad if it's going to be weeks without power."

Wurth said he took the generator to the bar to plug in the beer fridge and soda gun compressor, as well as a big Bluetooth speaker, and put the word out on social media.

"Everything we can possibly get money for, I'm going to try," he said. "We'll lose money on it."