Craft Beer Cellar to open three more stores within the next year

So happy for those ladies!!! The best in the biz.

 

This is a wonderful shop. I've only been in twice, but it's obvious that it's run by people who truly love great beer. They've got some nice glassware for purchase too. My favorite touch? They actually carry Saison Dupont in BROWN bottles in addition to the green, skunk-prone bottles you see everywhere else.

 

Get the eff out of town! I really need to make a trip to this shop at some point in the near future, and Saison Dupont in amber glass may be a big part of that trip. It's my favorite beer that I just won't buy....

 

When I was in last week, they had singles and four packs of SD in 11.2 oz capped brown bottles. I only drink it on tap usually. I saw the brown bottles and grabbed a couple. Awesome. The larger format, corked & caged bottles were green glass only.

 

Great news--I hope one of the new stores is in Cambridge/Somerville and T-accessible!

 

Rumor has it that the brown bottle 4 pack shipment was a mistake, and that we won't be seeing them again.

 

I wish them success but three more stores sounds like a very ambitious undertaking. Wine Nation is a good example of what can easily happen. I hope they start with 1 then more if the first new one is successful as opposed to three new stores at once.

 

Wine Nation is clearly run by people with no business sense though. It seems as though they didn't crunch any numbers before opening a new store, which would have to be an edge case for most small business owners.

I'm betting this is probably a necessary development for CBC because at their current size they probably have trouble getting distributor attention compared to the Gordon's, Julio's, and Blanchards of the area.

 

You're probably right about Wine Nation and it really is astounding that they probably went that route.

 

Good stuff. Craft Beer Cellar is a fantastic store, but it's a horrible location if you don't live in the general vicinity. I also hope they're going to expand out of that Pike area, which is flooded with beer stores. Something right off the highway south of Boston in Dorchester or Quincy would fill probably the biggest void in the area.

 

cbeer is right, the south shore area seems to be a bottle shop dead zone so one in Quincy would be a good guess. There isn't much going on in the Merrimack Valley as far as I can tell, they would would be strong there. Metro west is obviously covered. What about something actually in the city that is T accessible? Also would be a great stop for tourists if it was located in the Boston\Cambridge area.

 

Glad to hear this. Hope one makes it to Brookline. Although, didn't work out so well for PH provisions...

 

Gotta echo the south shore...even more south than Quincy. I have a hard time here in Dedham finding a store that truly gives a rats ass about their beer selection. So much that i have seriously thought that if i was to open my own business, it would be a craft beer store in this area that cares. Even thought about different sections for IPAs depending on age.

Given that CBC is opening 3 new stores, I would be very surprised if at least one wasn't south of Boston.

The customer service of PHP and CBC are a thousand leagues apart, and I thnk that can make or break you.

 

If you go further south shore than Quincy, then you're getting into reasonable distance to Granite territory, and Craft Beer Cellar is no better than Granite. Also Curtis and Luke's help service the south shore decently. It's the whole Southeast Expressway area that is a complete no-man's land.

Agreed Dedham isn't great, but at least there is the Whole Foods, and Blanchard's West Rox right over the border. Both of those are better than anything off the Southeast Expressway.

 

fair point, i still wonder though if PHP wasn't doomed more due to being a smallish craft beer store without BMC (or liquor, big wine selection etc) in such a high rent district. then again, obviously belmont isn't exactly bargain-basement territory either.

 

I thought the maximum amount of beer/wine/liquor stores you can operate in MA was three. Am I making that law up or did it change? Unless a new store is going to be in another state.

The guy that worked at PHP always looked miserable. CBC has first rate customer service. Plus they are really into social networking. I think some of the reasons that PHP failed are more than obvious.

 

Yeah I like Granite, I just wish it was a little closer to me. I was thinking more of the Westwood - Norwood - Dedham – Canton – Milton areas. I guess that’s more southwest from Quincy

Dedham’s not the worst, but more than a couple times I've asked a beer-related question at Blanchard’s in WR and got blank stares or shrugged shoulders. Their just-ok selection (given the size of the store) and lack of helpful beer knowledge frustrates me sometimes. And I wish Whole Foods would allow mix packs of fresh beer and stop hiding goodies in the back for those who know a secret password.

But I can see Quincy supporting a CBC well. The relatively dense population there should help…

 

Yeah I don't know, I liked that they were there and used to stop in to buy something after dinner at American Craft. But I wonder if part of the problem was simply their name. If someone who doesn't know about the store drives by and just sees the name "Publick House Provisions", are they going to know they sell fun beer there? Id' say no. But, I can't remember if there was lots of visible beer in the window. I don't think there was (a good thing). Just speculating...

 

I think you're thinking of the maximum number of locations where a supermarket chain can have beer/wine sales.