Could a growler-only shop make it?

In the right location, with the right population around, just about any kind of business can work. A growler filling place doesn't sound like a sustainable business to me, but then again, neither does Edible Arrangements.

 

There are many growler only places that do well. Like others have said, its all about location and selection. If you only pour the same things that another place down the street has, people have no reason to come there.

 

Agreed. But to be fair that was more just due to the fact they were horribly managed, and in a bad location.

Their bottle/growler selection wasn't too shabby. Pricing and actually knowing how to fill growlers - those were a problem.

OP - closest I can think of a straight growler station (i.e. no bottles, and not part of a bar etc) in NYC is the Filling Station in Chelsea market - but they offer oils and vinegars too.

 

I'll second the mention of the Growler Room here in Austin. Great shop and the seem to get a few rare/draft only items that its tough to get elsewhere.

 

There are two in Columbus, OH that do this successfully: The Daily Growler and The Ohio Taproom. Daily Growler has 60 taps, and also has consume on premises - but pints only (and the pint prices are a little expensive; half the cost of a growler, except during happy hour). The Ohio Taproom has 20 taps, and all beers are Ohio-brewed. I've been to Ohio Taproom multiple times and am a frequent customer at DG.

 

How does this work where there are "growler laws"? I believe in MA, the growler must be from the brewery.

I could see it where you could bring your own and say "fill 'er up, Joe". But if you had to stcok growlers for every brewery on tap? Not so much...

 

Or something like this near a transport hub- subway/amtrac/bus station- like all of the little coffee bodegas. That would make the commute a little easier- one less stop to make.

 

I would think in a mixed college/yuppie town, you could probably do well with a mix of draft-only craft stuff, and cheap BMC fills to run volume. Mark up the craft stuff and charge a few bucks a fill on BMC. Rent would have to be cheap, but the plus side of doing a growler-only business is you could really minimize the space. I'm guessing when someone opens such a store, that's the economic reasoning behind it.

 

Ah, YES! These discussions are pointless unless you have a specific location in mind.

It's no different thatn when people state a bar can't survive unless they carry some BMC. Maybe they can't in Sparks, NV, but in NYC, no problem. Same goes for any business.

 

my buddy was telling me there's a growler fill station in Grand Central. but I think he said they do bottles as well

 

Could you buy pints to drink at this place or was it just growler fills? If it was the latter, then yeah that's a dumb idea unless you have like 36 taps of all primo beer. Where I live there's Asheville Growler. They have like 24 taps and they sell pints. I've never been (kind of a far drive for me and I have a store I get growlers from instead) but I've seen their tap list and it's solid and they seem to be successful.

 

That's a terrible idea.

 

How about a food truck/growler fill station? Leverage your risk on food vs. beer sales while no brick and mortar to invest in or lease. Probably lots of local laws against service beer like the ice cream man though.

 

Doubt this will ever happen...but just imagine the possibilities...throw a party, rent a beer truck. Go to the park...have a beer. Genius.

 

Hmm interesting. I was just thinking about this concept in Chicago. We have a commuter rail line with a retail area attached to the station. You can drink on the train, most people just grab a Miller Lite tallboy from the CVS (which they charge like $6 for).

There is about a 1,400 sq ft space for rent right along the main path, used to be a Caribou Coffee. I was thinking of putting something like this in there. Maybe like a 10 seat bar, with Growler/to-go sales. Hit up that rush hour crowd. Alas, in Illinois, only Brewpubs may fill growlers. Time to lobby Springfield...

 

I doubt most places would allow people to drink beer straight from the truck while walking through the park due to permit laws and such. I guess if the truck set up at the same location every day like many food trucks do, they could get a alcohol permit for a "beer garden" roped off area like at a fair or festival. Not sure if that fee would be really expensive though. I was thinking about parking a "take home only" beer truck outside of bar districts on weekends. Get the young 20 somethings strolling out of the nightclubs and bars at 2am, get some of your drunk food from the truck, and also buy growler beer to take home for the after hours party! Cha-ching!

 

I'll buy growlers as long as they're filled properly and the price is reasonable, but as long as it's cheaper to buy the same (or very similar) beer in a six-pack, a growler really isn't worth it.

 

We have a growler fill station here that does growlers and pints that has partnered with a local food truck to park next to the building every night. It's a pretty sweet set up and idea, though not technically a beer truck...but it helps both those guys from all the extra licenses of selling food/selling alcohol.

There's also a couple companies in town that rent out a "bike bar"...basically a moving pub where you sit around a bar and pedal (like a bike) and go around town. One of them goes from bar to bar, you fill up with a brew and hop back on and go to the next pub. But the other one has two beers on tap on the moving pub with a bartender. It's pretty cool.

 

I wish I could buy growlers in Rhode Island.