Craft Beer Cellar - Braintree

At one point I heard it rumored they were planning a shop for Lowell. I hope the store in Braintree has no bearing on them setting up shop in Lowell. I would kill for a good bottle shop around here.

 

The flagship store in Belmont is one of my favorite places for beer especially when I was living in Belmont. Great shop, selection, and staff.

Here is the latest from their email newsletter that came out today regarding future CBC's:

Fall 2013​

Newton Centre: 1243 Centre Street, Newton, MA​

Merrimack Valley, Westford: 142 Littleton Road, Westford, MA​

South Shore, Braintree: 28 Commercial Street, Braintree, MA​

And YES, Waterbury, VT (location still in the works)!​

​

In case you're curious:​

We're also working very hard on Portland, ME and Portsmouth, NH!​

 

They are expanding/franchising like crazy - Winchester (with only New England brews) just opened. Newton, Westford, and Waterbury, VT are all in the works, too after they failed to find a location in Needham. Maybe they will be able to leverage that kind of size into getting really substantial stocks of some limited releases. Or maybe they will just have to divide a case of KBS between 5 stores.

Also, just checked their website, and they are really looking to capitalize on their name, seeking franchise partners everywhere, and in particular looking at:

2013: Portland, ME, Portsmouth, NH
2014: Connecticut, Rhode Island, & Washington, DC
2015: NC, Chicago, IL, & Denver, CO
2016: Santa Rosa, CA, San Antonio, TX, & Atlanta, GA

 

Might not be a problem for CBC. Weren't they 1 of 2 stores in MA that got more than 1 case of KBS last March? Sounds like their special treatment will suck even more special releases into these suburban locations. Good for those locals but it makes me wonder what stores will get screwed.

 

Well, I'd buy that it's not a slam dunk for the franchisees. And I think adhering to a we-only-sell-Brewers-Association-approved-craft-beer is unnecessary. But I don't think more CBCs hurts beer consumers.

 

Completely agree, even the northern side of Braintree would seem a better choice rather than going head to head with Granite.

 

I emailed Andy, I have questions.

 

Frankly we don't need another "craft" centric place that has tons of of pricey bombers & 750's rotting away on unrefrigerated shelves with little space in coolers for 6/12 packs. Prove me wrong CBC.

 

Don't come to RI CBC, I can't imagine the headaches and bullshit that you'll find when you attempt to open a business here. This state seems to hate business, especially business that sells booze

 

They should totally open a store in Brimfield, MA

 

I REALLY enjoy shopping at CBC, but the employment add on today's Craigslist?? C'mon.

 

Link? I looked. Didn't find. Not looking to work there, just curious what they said.

 

That's what I find really odd. I don't think Braintree is a bad choice per se, but they chose the completely wrong side of Braintree as if they don't know the area at all. 5 minutes from Granite in an area that is not very convenient to the highway, in probably the one spot in Braintree without room for a nice big parking lot. Perhaps they figure that "beer geeks will seek us out", but I'm unconvinced a store in that particular location can make it on craft beer alone. I also don't even think CBC is any better than Granite, so I'm not even convinced they'll pull that much business away from Granite.

Something more convenient to the highway on the Braintree/Quincy line would have done infinitely better IMO, both for accessibility and distance from Granite.

http://boston.craigslist.org/gbs/ret/3969833632.html

They definitely do take themselves way too seriously, but I suppose it translates reasonably well to the consumer for the most part.

 

Jesus christ, 4 rounds of interviewing to work at a liquor store?!?!?

 

Agreed. Thanks for the link. Beats flipping burgers if you need a job I suppose. But 4 rounds is intense.

 

I can definitely understand why the 4 rounds sounds like a bit much. But I think it's merely because Kate and Suzanne's vision is to ensure each and every employee conveys the CBC brand they care so much about...a brand that tells people this is where you can go for dependable knowledge of styles and recommendations, unlike other liquor stores where there may only be 1 person on staff who really knows beer and the other employees are just cashiers and stockboys who are of no use to someone looking for recommendations. The 4 rounds is maybe just a way for them easily filter through the many (i assume) applicants and cherry pick the ones who are a perfect fit for their brand. If they can afford to be choosey, why not be. Whether or not their tone and personality (which oozes in the job posting) is annoying, that's another conversation.

What sets CBC apart from other stores IMO is how they cater to NON beer geeks. People like many of us on BA aren't looking for recommendations. We know what's out there and what we want. CBC excels at helping a shopper who doesn't always know what they want, or isn't familiar with every style and brewery. For example, one time when I was in CBC I overheard a lady walk up to an employee and say "i recently read something about beers brewed with rye...they sound interesting...do you have any rye beers here that you would recommend?" To me, this is type of customer that CBC excels at helping. Other stores cannot always answer that kind of question. A geek would never ask this question...they may just ask "I don't see any Rye-on-Rye on the shelf do you have any in the back?" But you can ask that question at Granite and Julios and be helped the same way.

I think it CBC is a great store for people who aren't geeks, which helps grow the interest in "other" beer. The speedy pace at which they're looking to expand is interesting...we'll see what kind of affect it has on things like the small allotments of rare releases that are already spread rediculously thin across the state.