Open a craft beer store and pub in NC

Discussion in 'South Atlantic' started by jmw236, Oct 28, 2013.

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  1. jmw236

    jmw236 Initiate (0) Oct 28, 2013 North Carolina

    Hi there,

    Not sure if I'm at the right spot but maybe you can shed some light on it.

    I'm looking to open a craft beer pub in NC. I'm looking for advice from anyone who is familiar with the business.The plan is to have 20 taps, some local, seasonal, rotating, 80+ bottled beers for consumption at home or on the premises, no food (at first). I won't be selling liquor as the building isnt zoned for it.

    The building is in a great neighborhood, age group mid twenties to 60, young families, alot of businesses. Can walk there, cycle, plenty of parking and no competition.The building is too small to put a kitchen at just 1400 sq feet. But the plot of land is 1 acre (lots of room to expand if successful). The property was used for as a garden centre and is landscaped and would make an awesome beer garden. I plan on building a walk in cooler that will connect to the outside of the building, so to maximize the space.

    I'm trying to find out if their are any limitations of running a business like this e.g state profit mix requirements for bar sales v retail %, maximum number of taps allowed, hours of operation, ease of getting permit from the city. Success rate?

    Appreciate your feedback
    Thank you very much
    John
     
    #1 jmw236, Oct 28, 2013
  2. one800higgins

    one800higgins Initiate (0) Oct 21, 2013 North Carolina

    You may want to speak with more qualified people, like a lawyer.
     
    #2 one800higgins, Oct 29, 2013
  3. dbrauneis

    dbrauneis Grand High Pooh-Bah (8,071) Dec 8, 2007 North Carolina
    Mod Team BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    And where in NC?
     
    #3 dbrauneis, Oct 29, 2013
  4. flipdog0

    flipdog0 Pundit (799) Feb 11, 2011 North Carolina

    I would suggest speaking with someone at your local town planning office.
     
    #4 flipdog0, Oct 29, 2013
  5. DWheeler379

    DWheeler379 Zealot (747) Jun 15, 2012 Colorado

    There are food requirements, but bottle shops get around that likely because they sell mostly to-go packages. You can also become a "private club" that would require customers to sign up (and potentially pay a nominal fee - but they may not have to).
     
    #5 DWheeler379, Oct 29, 2013
  6. brawleys

    brawleys Initiate (0) May 7, 2004 North Carolina

    As I understand the law food is only required if you sell wine or liquor. Wine requires a menu and liquor gets into % of sales ratios.
     
    #6 brawleys, Oct 30, 2013
    flipdog0 and Handle like this.
  7. jmw

    jmw Initiate (0) Feb 4, 2009 North Carolina

    It seriously depends on what city you are talking about.

    I'm betting a drinks-on-premises business is going to have to serve food.

    This forum is not a good venue for potentially business-influencing advice. As suggested above, speak with a lawyer, speak with city planning office, and most importantly speak with the local licensing agency and TTB. They're the ones that will stop you in your tracks so you want them in discussions from the start.

    We can help you pick your taps and plan your floor layout, but you really should be getting better advice than ours on legal matters.
     
    #7 jmw, Oct 30, 2013
    charlottemoeron likes this.
  8. brawleys

    brawleys Initiate (0) May 7, 2004 North Carolina

    I only know from my exp in NC. I own a beer shop in NC soon to serve on premise. I dont need anything from TTB.
     
    #8 brawleys, Oct 30, 2013
  9. jmw236

    jmw236 Initiate (0) Oct 28, 2013 North Carolina

    Thanks for your feedback everyone. I've since got a response from the ABC board and all I need is a wine store permit and a malt beverage on premise permit. No food requirements. Profit mix (consumption/ retail)is determined locally which I still need to find out about.
     
    #9 jmw236, Nov 3, 2013
  10. CapeFear

    CapeFear Initiate (0) Feb 17, 2007 North Carolina

    A wine shop permit does not require food. However it has a lot of limitations. Such as "wine may be poured for a scheduled wine tasting for educational purposes. The remainder of the bottle can then be sold by the glass". We did this for years and it got really old. Get an unfortified on premise wine permit. To do this you will have to use the snack bar clause. A microwave, small dorm freezer, hot pockets, pretzels, soup, Ect. Basically SAMs club shit. Make a small menu and submit it. You'll be running this angle like a gas station does (individually wrapped for single serving) (customers prepare it themselves). That way you'll get a letter of exemption from the health dept. for being a food est. Look it up. That's how we roll in NC. ALE pops in once to check it and your good. There's a bar with spaghettios for sale for $100. There is no % of food sales needed for this. Customers don't even have to know. Also I would get a coolbot from storeitcold.com and build the walk in cooler. It'll save you thousands. Other than that I'd like to know who and where I'm giving advice to. Hope this helped a little.
     
    #10 CapeFear, Nov 7, 2013
    Handle, MrPeabodysBeard and brawleys like this.
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