Where to open a new LHBS

The wife will be retiring in less than a year. One of the options we are considering is opening a Brew Store. We have several different places we have concidered going.

We are looking for a place where there is a good homebrew community but not a decent HBS in the area.

If you could open a store anywhere, or have a LHBS open up where would it be?

Next door to me!

Due to tax laws (and some other factors). TX, OK, and WA are tops on the list right now.

Just find an underserved area with a fairly large population, then find a relatively low rent storefront on a busy road. Also, you may want to learn how to set up an e-commerce site and run an online storefront as well.

My town is actually a prime location for a LHBS.

There are about 300,000 people here, and the closest LHBS is in the northern part of the county about 20 miles north of downtown.

2,000,000 people in the metro area and only 3 LHBS total.

Myrtle beach!!! we don't have one since the one closed a few years back

But don't you want to retire?

Personal experience talking here. Moving to a new location and starting a business soon thereafter is not a great idea. Second, an under served area for a business sometimes indicates that the demand isn't up to what you need to get it working. My most successful business was located within walking distance of at least 10 competitors. Why did I do well? Excellent service that was above and beyond the competition, I was also the top tier in pricing so I let the low margin crap go to the competitors.

So going where it does not exists means you have to create the demand. I'd look to go where the competition is poorly run or even buying out an existing unprofitable store and re-launching it. Kill people with service and selection - teach them how to brew, and other complimentary hobbies.

Never been to OK, limited TX knowledge so on a personal level I'd go WA just for quality of life. Portland is top heavy with HB stores.

+1 on the above comment. Very good thoughts there. But to answer your question in the Louisville ky area there is only 1 reputable shop in a city of almost 800,000 people. It's a good market for craft brew and also has tons of history and things to do. Great town all around.

TopherM said:

Just find an underserved area with a fairly large population, then find a relatively low rent storefront on a busy road. Also, you may want to learn how to set up an e-commerce site and run an online storefront as well.

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Yep! That's exactly what we're looking for. Looking for places with a decent brewing community but no LHBS support.


Here's some of the areas we've looked in some detail.

Stillwater, OK
Lawton, OK
OKC, (Edmond) OK
Abline, TX (also Lubbock and Amarilla)
San Antonio, TX
Spokane, WA

Maybe the Dallas, TX area or Tacoma, WA area.

We're still looking. Just hoping to a get a bump this way or that.

codyjp said:

But don't you want to retire?

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She's retiring from the military. I already am retired.

This will be a great way to some extra money, (Still have kids at home ect...) but still be an expansion of my hobby.

Castle Rock, CO. Would get you traffic from all over South Denver, imo.

J

samc said:

Personal experience talking here. Moving to a new location and starting a business soon thereafter is not a great idea. Second, an under served area for a business sometimes indicates that the demand isn't up to what you need to get it working. My most successful business was located within walking distance of at least 10 competitors. Why did I do well? Excellent service that was above and beyond the competition, I was also the top tier in pricing so I let the low margin crap go to the competitors.

So going where it does not exists means you have to create the demand. I'd look to go where the competition is poorly run or even buying out an existing unprofitable store and re-launching it. Kill people with service and selection - teach them how to brew, and other complimentary hobbies.

Never been to OK, limited TX knowledge so on a personal level I'd go WA just for quality of life. Portland is top heavy with HB stores.

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That's the main reason I'm leaning toward OK or TX. I was born and raised in OK. I was stationed there and TX for many years. I still have family in those areas. That's why I'm put feelers out that way.

WA seems to be good but I don't know the area as well.

BTW I like your ideas on service. That is my plan. I will be selling the same products for the same use as everyone else. Service will be what makes of breaks the store.

(Maybe a HBT.com members discount)

Duluth, MN....

but seriously we have a fair number of brewers and every homebrewer I've talked to in the area says they go to the Twin cities to get their stuff. That's a two hour drive. We have some places that sell kits and single pound bags of grain but thats about it.

skippyf16 said:

Castle Rock, CO. Would get you traffic from all over South Denver, imo.

J

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That is one place we've talked about. I haven't been in that area for almost 25 years. (Except driving through).
I know Colorado Springs has a couple of good stores. That whole area, Denver to the Springs is a big Homebrew area.

Thanks it might be worth a look.

If you are looking at washington, ellensburg seems a bit underserved. closest homebrew supplies are about 30-40 minutes one way and not well stocked. there seems to be a fair population of people somewhat involved here/willing to be more involved though to be honest i'm not too sure of the demand. its certainly not a large community though.

Because I am selfish I will propose you open one in Bloomingdale, IL.

I second Castle Rock. That's a place that is coming up in a big way. That would be a good spot to have an LHBS.

Tinga said:

Duluth, MN....

but seriously we have a fair number of brewers and every homebrewer I've talked to in the area says they go to the Twin cities to get their stuff. That's a two hour drive. We have some places that sell kits and single pound bags of grain but thats about it.

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I hear ya tinga.. not much here. I get everything online and wait, or my every other month trip to the cities. I did just come from last chance with a 3lb bag of DME because I need to make some starters this week.

TotemWolf said:

Yep! That's exactly what we're looking for. Looking for places with a decent brewing community but no LHBS support.


Here's some of the areas we've looked in some detail.

Stillwater, OK
Lawton, OK
OKC, (Edmond) OK
Abline, TX (also Lubbock and Amarilla)
San Antonio, TX
Spokane, WA

Maybe the Dallas, TX area or Tacoma, WA area.

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Here in Dallas we already have four HBS. I think you would be pushing it trying to survive against all four stores plus all the online vendors. You might be better situating yourself in SA (I don't know if they have a local shop and AHS is a bit far for a quick drive) or somewhere in OK, but I have no idea why anybody would want to go to that dump of a state. I'm not sure if anywhere in west Texas has a large enough community to support a physical shop. Houston might also be another place to consider although I am sure they have a shop or two.

If you're looking for underserved with a large potential customer base... Northern New Jersey. I know that's not on your list, but this is one of the most densely populated parts of the country and there's just one crappy shop that caters mostly to wine makers.

I started homebrewing in Tacoma. Great quality of life, but it might be a tough market to break in to. After seeing the average LHBS in other parts of the country, I realized I got spoiled having 2 of the best shops I've seen near me.

Castle Rock sounds nice, but I'd like one near Golden, CO. Would also serve Genesee, Evergreen, Morrison, Applewood, North Lakewood, South Arvada.

TotemWolf said:

The wife will be retiring in less than a year. One of the options we are considering is opening a Brew Store. We have several different places we have concidered going.

We are looking for a place where there is a good homebrew community but not a decent HBS in the area.

If you could open a store anywhere, or have a LHBS open up where would it be?

Click to expand...

Bryan Ohio!!!!!!!!! So i can quit having to order everything online lol

TotemWolf said:

Due to tax laws (and some other factors). TX, OK, and WA are tops on the list right now.

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I'm gonna recommend North Fort Worth, TX. Low alcohol laws and tons of brewers in the area. From where i live, you have to drive to Dallas (easily 1 hour each way, more likely 2hrs) or Arlington (easily 45mins each way, on a good day).

Plus, you'll be right in my neck of the woods.

San Antonio TX has one decent store on the extreme northeast side. We would be well-served by a home-brew store on the West side of town. Driving an hour across town over 410/35 is a huge pain in the ass.

TotemWolf said:

Yep! That's exactly what we're looking for. Looking for places with a decent brewing community but no LHBS support.


Here's some of the areas we've looked in some detail.

Stillwater, OK
Lawton, OK
OKC, (Edmond) OK
Abline, TX (also Lubbock and Amarilla)
San Antonio, TX
Spokane, WA

Maybe the Dallas, TX area or Tacoma, WA area.

We're still looking. Just hoping to a get a bump this way or that.

Click to expand...

Honestly i wouldn't consider WA at all At least not the Tacoma-Seattle area, I love the area but there are a TON of Great shops in the Seattle Tacoma area. I dont know about Spokane tho.

What does it take to open a homebrew store?
We don't have a decent one within driving distance.

I was wondering iwhat kind of cash outlay, and would people visit a locqal shop instead of ordering online.

Vance71975 said:

Honestly i wouldn't consider WA at all At least not the Tacoma-Seattle area, I love the area but there are a TON of Great shops in the Seattle Tacoma area. I dont know about Spokane tho.

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I don't know what's already in Spokane, but in my mind, nothing in the Seattle/Tacoma area would affect Spokane due to the distance between them.

Vance71975 said:

Honestly i wouldn't consider WA at all At least not the Tacoma-Seattle area, I love the area but there are a TON of Great shops in the Seattle Tacoma area. I dont know about Spokane tho.

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From what I understand there is one store in Spokane but I don't know that much about.

I'd look at Vancouver, WA over Tacoma (just a personal preference). All the tax benefits, and just across the river from Portland. But, a lot of the population probably just drives over to the Portland area to shop without the sales tax.

Haven't spent any time in Spokane, but the area looks really nice, and would go there over TX/OK in a heartbeat.

TotemWolf said:

Abline, TX (also Lubbock and Amarilla)

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Oh please oh please oh please come to Abilene!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'd be buying from you often!:rockin:

Layne said:

What does it take to open a homebrew store?
We don't have a decent one within driving distance.

I was wondering iwhat kind of cash outlay, and would people visit a locqal shop instead of ordering online.

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It depends on how big u want to go. J B Carlson wants a min $10K in orders a year for most stores. Then you have your lease and upkeep. Fees for the licencing and such. All your displays coolers and so on.

We planning $500K total capital for the startup for a full service LHBS. That could be grants, loans, investment and everything. Alot of that will be one time only payments. Plus enough capital to get the wheels rollin'. You could start smaller, or bigger.

Depending on where you set up. You may need a licence for brewing on location (lessons, brew day events, clubs and so on).

Make sure you incorperate and keep your personal finances seperate from your business.

Mustangfreak said:

Oh please oh please oh please come to Abilene!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'd be buying from you often!:rockin:

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How big is the Homebrew community there?

Edit to add:

I noticed there was a club but is it active?

TotemWolf said:

From what I understand there is one store in Spokane but I don't know that much about.

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Correct. Also correct that Sea-Tac does not count as local for us. 9+ hour round trip. Seems to be a pretty decent brewing population here, and several new breweries opening up. Somewhat under-served craft beer market considering we're the closest major metropolitan area to the hop city USA (Yakima).

Several homebrew clubs, you'll likely find the most info and current contacts here: IBU facebook page

Depending on location, you'd serve from Moses Lake WA to Coeur d'Alene ID. roughly 500k people. I believe there's another shop in CdA, but haven't been.
If you've questions about our solo LHBS, send a PM.

All that said, you'll want to set up such that your primary competitor is the internet. Many folks here, and I'm sure everywhere, shop primarily online. I'm sure many are like me and have some arbitrary margin they'll pay over shipped online prices, but there is a limit, and large volume low margin can be tough to beat. That margin can rise if the service is good, more so if it's great. Other questions about Spokane let me know.
Will

TotemWolf said:

How big is the Homebrew community there?

Edit to add:

I noticed there was a club but is it active?

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The club is active! Over 50 members I believe, heck I think we have more than that now.

Since you're retiring, why not Miami. I haven't checked lately, but my LHBS said there is not a single LHBS in Dade or Broward county. That's 3 million people. There are two LHBS in Palm Beach County.

ReverseApacheMaster said:

Here in Dallas we already have four HBS. I think you would be pushing it trying to survive against all four stores plus all the online vendors. You might be better situating yourself in SA (I don't know if they have a local shop and AHS is a bit far for a quick drive) or somewhere in OK, but I have no idea why anybody would want to go to that dump of a state. I'm not sure if anywhere in west Texas has a large enough community to support a physical shop. Houston might also be another place to consider although I am sure they have a shop or two.

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Hey, What are the 4 stores in Dallas? I only know of HBHQ and Winemakers toy store, what are the other 2?

Just my 2 cents, but the LHBS in Orlando has a really bad rep but is the only one for orange county (1.2 million people). There's a HB club in the area, and the Orlando Brewery (USDA Organic). Because of the temps here, I could see a need for fermentation solutions that Hearts Home Brew really doesn't cover, same with wort chilling with the warm ground water temps.

Plus I'd love to help setup a web site for you

toxick said:

San Antonio TX has one decent store on the extreme northeast side. We would be well-served by a home-brew store on the West side of town. Driving an hour across town over 410/35 is a huge pain in the ass.

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HomeBrewParty rocks, if you come to SA I would get some distance from them, they are not perfect but they have their sh*t together.

I will be more than likely moving to Tyler, TX in a few months and noticed they dont have a LHBS, as most brewers there goe to to dallas or order online.