New Bottle Shop suggestions round 2

I disagree with most people here.

Don't get your cash flow tied up in food products you may or may not be able to sell.
Get a popcorn popper and offer bags of fresh popped pop corn. After getting the machine, your costs are negligible and, if you do it right it will take up a bunch of floor space. When you are popping it there, the aroma makes it a must buy.
Get a couple of big racks of chips.
And a table of some nuts.
Take up that 50% without laying out a lot of money

 

OR:

Can you sublet out 50% to a food seller.

 

Interesting... in CA, I've seen it done both ways:

Like a liquor store/7-11/gas station - chips, nuts, ice cream sandwiches, candy, gum, etc.
Like a provisions store - high quality, local, rarer, artisan-style products like cheeses, oils, vinegars, deli meat, sauces, baked goods

So it prob depends on the market you'd want to reach. I'm speculating, with craft beer drinkers in general, you're able to reach them with either style/approach. Though the latter would most likely be higher maintenance.

 

To do this you first need to know the make up of the neighborhood you are entering, age, income, sex, employment, etc. Once you know this you can venture into their purchasing habits, i.e. are they 24 pack mass produced, 6 pack craft, expensive bombers, or collectors, how many are strictly beer drinkers, do you need other liquor items, how often do they purchase, how far do your customers travel. You can tailor food items too, will people buying beer only buy foods or will your store be a convince stop for quick needs. This raises the question as to what the competition is in your local? Where are supermarkets, convince stores, bodegas. Your description would suggest cheeses both dips and hard, high end meats, and other gourmet snacks. Your problem will be having enough groceries for 50% of the store space. Know your customers and their , everyone has a vision as to what they want but you need to know the market and what the market will hold.

 

He's probably talking about a "C" license - somewaht common in the NYC metro area, and I've seen them scattered around the rest of the state, as well. From the faq of the NYS Liquor Authority:

Because ---- it's the law?

 

I've been to quite a few beer stores in NYS... are you sure you're not just reading the law incorrectly? The only stores I've ever purchased beer at that have had 50% (or more) floor space of food were delis and gas stations...

 

This might sound unorthodox or even counterintuitive, but consider the fee/penalty and whether it's worth paying if someone files a complaint against you for not carrying food. It might actually be cheaper than stocking perishable items that may not generate revenue, not to mention you might even get away with it like that "unnamed place." This seems to be what your competition is doing.

 

Put in a hot dog roller. Slam down some gianelli hot Italian...BOOM, your a restaurant. PA has similar laws concerning club licenses. That is why you can get a hot dog at every Vets, Legion, Elks etc club in the Commonwealth.

 

If you've the time and a bit of spare cash for travel, you might want to visit a few of the bottle shops in Philly that are in or near neighborhoods that have a demographic similar to the one you expect to have. While the law does not require that 50% of the floor space be devoted to packaged food, it does require that to have a bottle shop business you must actually be running an "eatery" so that you can be effectively something like a deli style place that sells beer and food for on premises consumption and are also allowed to sell bottles and growlers for take out. Some of those places have packaged food items available for take out as well, so you'd have a chance to actually see an operation similar to what you are planning in terms of display, sales, etc.

If you do make a visit, avoid the bottle shops connected with grocery stores since they confine themselves to food preparation and beer sales.

 

I'm stealing most of these ideas from my favorite bottle shop (Vine and Brew in Okemos, MI) which sells craft beer, wine, and artisan food.

Quality jerky or meat sticks
Artisan chips and snack foods
Sauces and marinades
Chocolate and candy

Importantly, many of the food items are local, and the rest are really high-quality artisan items.

 

I think this is the most important part - especially if you're putting the emphasis on craft beer.

 

I live in New York and I've never seen a liquor store sell beer - I didn't know they weren't allowed to. Just thought why bother with all the delis and beer outlets around. Delis sell beer but mostly imports and the regular swill.There are beverage distributor places that sell mostly beer - hundreds of craft beers to choose from as well as the regular swill. Here is where I go -
http://www.syossetbeverage.com/home
This place is great too -
https://www.facebook.com/pages/A-R-Beverage/111849628838829