Sitdown or takeout?
‘Choice.’ Is that the real other c-word? You can be as crafty as you like, but giving your customers as broad a range of reasons to shell out their money seems like an obvious move. Take – for the purposes of this blog post – bottle shops. Edinburgh is blessed with at least half a dozen fantastic examples, each with their own particular leanings. None, to my knowledge, offer something that I first saw on a recent trip to New York. There, the Breukelen Bier Merchants in Williamsburg gives you the opportunity to crack open your purchase there and then, or even sit down and have a beer.
With a range of around five hundred bottles, that alone would make Breukelen Bier Merchants a fixture for the local beer scene. However, the fact that they also offer sixteen keg beers on tap was something I hadn’t seen before in a bottle shop. Over in the US, growler sales are more ingrained in the drinking culture – and although they are available at some bars here (and off licences, which I will come back to), there’s not the same mentality with regard to their use in the UK. Growler stations such as New York State’s Consumers Beverages (which has been going since 1948) are a reasonably common way for Americans to get hold of beer.
I’ve written about growlers before – for this post, I was wondering about the other aspect of Breukelen Bier Merchants – the fact that you can sit down and have a beer there, or open up the bottle you’ve just bought. Would that work over here? Clearly, the licence issues would need to be resolved – but once you had the papers to cover on- and off-sales, would that system attract people? I asked a few of Edinburgh’s bottle shop owners – all seemed to think the principal could work – although most were guarded in whether they would like to actually offer it – “I wouldn’t want to be the first – it sounds bloody terrifying.” said one.
At least two of Edinburgh’s bottle shops already offer growler sales – the Beer Hive in Cannonmills being the first (and I believe Great Grog now have something similar). However, both are for takeaway purposes only. If each had a couple of tables and a few seats, would that persuade you to have a few beers there? Or is our drinking culture so different, so pub-centric, that there’s no need for that option to be there? Is Breukelen’s ‘craft beer shop and tasting room’ too American a concept for the UK market? Or, does their slogan hit home? “Drink a Draught or Bottle in the Shop, or Buy Some to Take With You; Your Choice”
NB – There may be some bottle shops in the UK that do offer on-sales, it’s just I’ve yet to cross their beery threshold. If you ever find yourself in Brooklyn, then head to Breukelen Bier Merchants, as they certainly do have an enormous range. Follow them on Twitter here
7 Comments
Phil
February 11, 2013I wouldn’t mind having this place on my doorstep that’s for sure..
There are a couple of beer shops I know that do this or similar at least. Stirchley Wines in Birmingham has just recently started doing a kegged beer for take away (growler) sales, last time I noticed it was Magic Rock 8 Ball. Also “The House Of Trembling Madness” in York has a great beer shop downstairs that you can choose to drink upstairs, there is an added premium as I recall though and of course 95% of it isn’t chilled so not always a good option.
Cheers
tania_nexust
February 11, 2013I can think of a few other examples – I believe there is (or used to be?) an off licence in a suburb of Birmingham (Shirley) called “Bernie’s Real Ale Off Licence” – where they served draught ale to take away or to drink in; Beer Mania in Brussels (St Gilles area) is a bottle shop with a decent-size seating area at the back, serving snacks and anything from the bottle selection (I believe they keep some chilled in the back); also Probus, a bottle shop in Dublin near the Ginger Man pub, has some barrels you can stand or sit around to drink a few bottles on the premises, and they also have tasting evenings. I don’t know what the costs are, in England, to have drinking on the premises like this permitted by your licence, but it seems like a good idea to maximise return from your bottle shelves!
Adam
February 11, 2013Interesting piece as always, Rich. I can only remember being in 2 ‘On-Sales’ places – The Inn Beer Shop in Southport and the HDM Beer Shop in Huddersfield, both are filed under Pubs and under Shops in my blog. Both have a great selection of bottled beers (in fridges & on shelves) and a number of cask & keg taps. And both are incredibly busy, interesting and friendly places to go – maybe there’s a different, more engaging and relaxed atmosphere in these places. I’d certainly love to see similar types of places in Scotland !
Richard
February 11, 2013Thanks for the comments all, it seems the consensus is (unsurprisingly) in favour – although Adam you make a good point about atmosphere. For something along these lines to work, it would clearly need to be a place you’d want to spend time in, rather than a shop with a couple of tables.
Phil – you’ve no idea how many times I’ve been to the Trembling Madness (and the Bottle, as it was), and not known that!
Freya
February 11, 2013There are so many great places like this in NYC and they do a booming trade – Good Beer in the East Village and Bierkraft in Park Slope to name two stellar examples. In the Uk I’m only aware of The Bottle Shop in Canterbury and I really admire its format (even tho I’ve never been). I genuinely think this the way forward. Diversifying a business model in this way is a healthy direction to move in. Build in some cheese and charcuterie people can sit in with or take away as well. Keep the seating areas comfortably separate from the shopping/browsing areas. I’d gladly take the plunge and be the first if someone will fund me!
Richard
February 12, 2013I agree totally Freya, for Edinburgh – at the moment – there’s enough of a gap in that direction to make it work (in theory at least). I talked to Andrew from the Bottle Shop before I wrote the blog, he’s certainly made it work in Canterbury. If you’re based in or around other food stalls, it would work even better, I would think. It’s just a question of getting the cash together!
Freya
February 12, 2013One or two would totally work here, but I see my comment above could be taken to mean it should usurp the current formats and seal the gap between on and off trades under a single roof! Not quite. But I also like how the Bottle Shop is a bit of a farmshop for local producers – incorporating such an element would really go down well in these parts I reckon. Scotland has rich pickings on that front – and it goes well with the beer. Like I said, accepting offers of funding! 😉