CHICO, Calif. - A local bar in downtown Chico is finding a way to make the best of the pandemic.

Argus Bar and Patio is bringing its most popular drinks to the comfort of your own home.

Restaurants and bars seem to have been hit the hardest by the pandemic.

But many are thinking of creative ways to stay afloat.

Scott Baldwin, owner and manager of Argus, has seen the worst of it all.

But that hasn’t stopped him from connecting with his customers.

Not in person, but through a “Monster Crate.”

“We thought, ‘What can we do and offer that isn’t essentially a liquor store that is delivering bottles to your door?’” Scott said. “We want to share our specialty syrups. In the Jimmy Hendrix box, we had the hibiscus syrup. When we made the cocktail ‘The Bob Dylan,’ it has a pistachio orgeat. No one wants to make a pistachio orgeat, but people do want to become a craft cocktail bartender in the comfort of their own home. So, that’s the goal.”

After being closed for months, Scott figured that this was the way to fight back.

He said, “It means the world. It’s gone from starting off as ‘Gosh, I don’t know if there is actually any dollars in this.’ Of course, as an entrepreneur, you run numbers beforehand. We are in the service industry so people’s feedback when it’s positive is literally what we live for.”

On the first Friday of every month, Scott hand delivers each crate to each subscriber’s doorstep.

He hopes to connect with more of his customers and bring his bar to them.

This month, the bar is sending one of their favorited drinks, the “Groundskeeper Willie”, to those who have subscribed.

Each “Monster Crate” comes with portioned out ingredients and a tutorial video to make it easier to the customer to make these drinks.

“I can’t wait to deliver the next batch of cocktails,” Scott exclaimed.