iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

nobody is doing consumer-facing thc ban messaging like total wine. it's self-serving obviously, but pretty straightforward for matters of highly contested and as-yet-unsettled federal law. tipster just fwd'd me this email from the retailer (which has gone all-in on hemp drinks):

graphic that reads "Last Chance to Shop THC-Infused Beverages Due to changes in federal law, THC beverages will no longer be available for sale after 12/10. Shop now while you can."

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One of the 250 stores closed nationwide was Richmond's location on North Robinson, which had gone union. @sbworkersunited.org Richmond is raising money to help the abruptly laid-off baristas make rent: www.gofundme.com/f/support-ri...

Ramona, a Shift Lead and partner of over 7 years from the North Robinson location, gave her reaction to the
HTS ARE
sudden news of their store's closure: QUEER
HTS
"I am heart broken and shocked at the sudden news of our stores closure. After six straight weeks of having record breaking customer reviews and our sales rising more than ever, learning that our store will be closed was insane. Our team has been blossoming and growing in their roles, exceeding expectations. I had tried to transfer due to an upcoming move for over 6 months and was told I was out of luck and would need to stay at my store just for our store to be closed unexpectedly.
Its left my sister homeless and risks my security and my ability to keep a roof over our heads. We barely make enough to make ends meet and so many of my teammates live check to check."
"To have our livelihoods ripped from us with no warning while blocking multiple partners from transferring over the past few months, it's left us without resources. We stood up with our community to fight for living wages, a right to have a workplace, and to finalize a contract all of which our community came out and showed up for in solidarity. I feel our community is being punished as are we, for our resilience, for our strength, and our volume, when we all stand together they can't ignore us. We can't let it end here."
We are raising funds to help ensure none of the baristas from the North Robinson store have to face the worst after having their work and stability taken from them right before the end of the month.

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Welcome to The Fingers Weekender, a Sunday digest exclusively for paying Friends of Fingers featuring the independent journalism about drinking in America you love, optimized for hungover scrolling. In today’s edition:

Boston Beer’s new union;

GunBun ain’t quite done-done;

Sazerac’s new schnapps company;

DoorDash got nailed in NYC;

And much more. As ever, if someone forwarded this to you, buy a subscription to get next Sunday’s edition straight in your inbox.

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This is correct, I think. SN's routes to market are pretty powerful, but Hidden Scroll in particular will live or die by its performance in independent ("cool") accounts with higher-touch needs to service. Spoke with the firm about this, but it got cut for space. Only gestured at it in the column:

Here, another rub. A core appeal of “hype” beers — to the extent that such appeal still exists at scale as we enter the back half of the ‘20s — is their scarcity, esotericism, and rapid-fire release cadence. Would, say, Other Half Brewing Company’s offerings have captivated finance bros late last decade if they were available in a dozen states, rather than only via a hole-in-the-wall across the street from a McDonald’s in central Brooklyn? Or, asked another way, is that sort of “hype” compatible with a Sierra Nevada sort of craft brewery?

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Dave Infante @dinfontay.com · 27/09/2026

these guys are so bad at this it's almost comical. "just think of data centers like highways, the infrastructure everybody loves and thinks is good." excellent analogy sir keep saying that.

“I’m a pro-AI advocate, one of the biggest named [organizations] in town. My mom hates data centers. I love her. Bless her heart,” Nathan Leamer, executive director of the advocacy organization Build American AI, said.

Leamer compared data centers to highways: a development that could fundamentally reshape the country, in his eyes, for the better. (His mom, he said, doesn’t care about the highway near her home — despite the noise.)

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Samuel Patterson, the full-time liaison to Richmond City Council President Cynthia Newbille, sent me and nine other people a random email this afternoon about a meeting that she is apparently holding on Wednesday in which he misspelled his own name.

Sent: Sunday, September 27, 2026 1:45 PM
Subject: The Last 7th District Code Refesh
Community Meeting-Tuesday, September 29, 2026 @ 6:00PM
Just a reminder: Councilwoman Cynthia
Newbille will host the last 7th District Code Refresh Meeting on this Tuesday, September 29, 2026 @ 6:00PM. The meeting will be held at the Henry Marsh Elementary School-located @ 813 North 28th Street, in the Auditorium. If you get a chance, please pass tis information on to others.
Thanks, Sam Patteron-Council Liaison
Sam.patterson@rva.gov
804-241-7544
804-646-3012
« Reply all
~ Forward

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Dave Infante @dinfontay.com · 27/09/2026

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Dave Infante @dinfontay.com · 27/09/2026

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Dave Infante @dinfontay.com · 25/09/2026

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Dave Infante @dinfontay.com · 25/09/2026

what if we kissed at the topo chico hard seltzer cantina in the ft lauderdale airport 🥺👉👈

photo of an extremely garishly painted topo chico branded bar in FLL

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Dave Infante @dinfontay.com · 25/09/2026

when somebody orders a shot of malört

Erica, 40, Republican, Latino, customer service Bad.
Pam, 66, Republican, white, retired Amoral.
Becky, 51, Democrat, white, retail Disgusting.
Robert S., 52, Republican, Latino, human resources Two words: morally corrupt.
Hitesh, 57, Republican, Asian, looking for work Disgusting.

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it's called trendspotting sweaty, look it up

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lmao @rusty.todayintabs.com: www.todayintabs.com/p/meta-s-new...

For Tan, this alleged away-blower of a robot “called my dental insurer, [gave] it my member ID, answered a security question and waited on hold before transferring me to the representative.” Wow, you can really wait on hold. “For now, a limited number of Muse users have access to the call feature,” notes Tan, which presumably means the offshore call center is currently only staffed up to handle the demands of one New York Times reviewer. It also put his credit card statements in a spreadsheet and identified a duplicate subscription, it “could efficiently fill out online forms,” whatever that means, but it couldn’t buy movie tickets or baseball tickets. It made an annoying podcast that even he couldn’t stand. And finally, it offered to take over “one of my favorite pastimes,” buying secondhand ceramic bowls. “While the agent worked,” writes Tan, “I watched its movements through a tiny browser window, where it navigated websites like a human with a mouse and cursor.”

You might be thinking: that’s the saddest shit I’ve ever heard in my life. But wait! I haven’t told you the worst part yet. Tan’s new imaginary friend also demanded that he give it a cutesy name, like he’s in literal preschool.

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Guys with Huckberry accounts doing the a-WOO-ga eyes

meme. caption reads

if you see the athletic x graza olive oil stunt beer in your neighborhood, the rent is going up
just kidding these are all condos nobody rents here lol

photo is the press shot for athletic x graza

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Dave Infante @dinfontay.com · 23/09/2026

People need "community." Bars need a business model: www.fingers.email/p/people-nee...

"That's the price you pay to be in community," Matellian, Last Ditch's third founder, gamely told Quinn, inventorying her various woes. It's a spectacular kicker to the piece. But with respect to Greenfield's indebted, involuntary publican, I don't think that's the lesson of her parable. Or, it's not the most salient lesson for our purposes, at least. To wit: American commerce is organized in such a way that bars must be businesses first and third places second. That order doesn't account for the social value that a good bar reproduces among its regulars and in its neighborhood. But neither will the bank. And no matter how wholesome and nourishing the community a failing business manages to build, somebody always has to pick up the tab.

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i would like to read an essay contemplating the simultaneous emergence of "cracked" (had sexual intercourse) and "cracked" (has skills/competence). unfortunately all the websites that might have published that essay are out of business now.

What Is 'Getting Cracked' or 'Got Cracked'?
This is all the more confusing because, at least for younger teens, "cracked" has meant being good at something — i.e., "I'm cracked at Fortnite." (See our constantly-updated Gen Z slang guide for the lowdown!) If you see someone dancing and acting happy because they "got cracked" last night, they aren't talking about drugs, chiropractor appointments, or video games. They mean they had sex — and they are feeling really good about it.

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Dave Infante @dinfontay.com · 23/09/2026

New stickers at the The Fingers Shop! All proceeds support more independent journalism about drinking in America: dinfontay.bigcartel.com/product/fing... (If you want this design specifically, put it in a note at checkout.)

fingers sticker that reads NEVER TRUST AN IPA DAD

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Dave Infante @dinfontay.com · 22/09/2026

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Dave Infante @dinfontay.com · 22/09/2026

listen what they do behind closed doors is none of my business

email subject line that reads "Heineken edges Bailey"

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Dave Infante @dinfontay.com · 22/09/2026

I'm reporting from the Virginia Brewers Conference in downtown Richmond today. If you catch my panel (coming up in just a few minutes) or see me on the floor today, come say hello! Or shoot me a DM here or a text on Signal at dinfontay.11 and we can try to connect!

dave holding a media credential at the virginia brewers conference in richmond. white shirt black hat

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as somebody who has covered this company for almost a decade, i say with considerable authority that this is a threat

Tilray’s Spirit Halloween Kicks Off Multi-Year Partnership; BrewDog to Lean into Ohio Identity

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