How soon is now?

(I needed a break, so I've been listening to the Smiths)

For the first time in ages, money has been a daily concern in my professional career, which is supposed to be about beer to the exclusion of most everything else. At least that's the way I've always approached it.

So far, NABC as currently constituted is holding up well amid the familiar economic problems in the nation at large. We’re holding our ground.

The money concerns I mention are about the beer, in the sense that my company needs money to finish the new brewery in downtown New Albany, which has been partially built but not finished. Until we get a financing package in place, we’re stymied. It has been a frustrating few months, to say the least.

Had we been ready to borrow in 2007, it is likely that one or the other bank would have handed us a pile of greenbacks sans much at all in the way of collateral. The fact that banks did this far too often is the precise reason why we now have a world financial crisis, and in some ways, it would be nice to have a finished project even if we now might be part of the overall problem rather than still standing outside on the doorstep, waiting to be processed.

Banks now insist that they’re practicing “old-fashioned” banking, and this means that they’re holding tightly to their reserves and insisting on conservative lending principles that a younger generation of bankers never even knew existed. Trust me – I’ve listened as they’ve confessed to their ignorance, and how much they’ve had to learn since matters began heading south.

I’ve also heard them cast doubt on the suitability of NABC’s brewery project by noting that they’re not funding start-ups (er, we’ve been in business for 21 years, altogether, and are expanding a brand, not creating an entirely new one), and also they they’re avoiding restaurants.

To the latter, I’ve responded: “Makes sense, but if you’d just take a look at this helpful business plan we spent six months writing and see that the taproom’s a small part of the beer production operation … wouldn’t want to trouble you, of course … we’re here to answer your questions, after all.”

There are times when it makes me want to scream. To all those borrowing idiotic amounts of money at unreal interest rates to fund houses you couldn’t afford in an exurb that I detest, hey … thanks for all that. And thanks to the people who indulged/conned you into thinking you could afford things you can’t. Thanks for voting Republican and acquiescing in the pell-mell shedding of regulation, which might have restrained you from your intrinsic greed.

However, in this situation, the truth of the matter is that the glass of beer is half-full, not half-empty. We took a long time to work through the details of the plan for the new operation, and that’s been good. It's better that way, and I feel even more confident about it now. The fact that we’ve had to go back and look for creative ways around the lending impasse has also been beneficial. I know more about SBA programs and leasing arrangements than ever before. When things break, we're going to be lean and efficient ... at least, more so than before.

Yes, I’d rather be focusing on the beer itself. At the same time, concentrating on all the rest of the financial minutia is an education I’ve sorely needed to further. Eventually it will enable me to return to the beer itself, because we’ll find the financing partner and finish the project, even if it takes longer than we’ve planned.

The beer’s going to taste even better then. Trust me.

The new, expanded Keg Liquors is coming this Monday, October 6.

Shamelessly cribbed from owner Todd Antz's MySpace blog. Suffice to say, we've all been looking forward to this one.




I am proud to announce the informal opening of the new Keg Liquors on October 6th. Same address, new building. For the past 5 months, we have been working on our new facility, a brand spanking new building on our existing property in Clarksville.

There is something to be said about having two buildings on a lot that really only fits one. Along the way we have managed to tear up a parking lot, hold our annual beer festival, answer untold questions as to what was going on in our parking lot (I could probably come up with a top 25 list of the best comments/questions asked over this time period, as well as my personal top 25 responses) and maintaining our business.

We are nearing the completion of a 5000 square foot building, an upgrade from our existing 2700 square foot, 40 year old building, so we are nearly doubling our space. What does this mean for our customers? As anyone who has done business with me over the past 4 years that I have been running the store, selection has been my hallmark. While I will carry the basics that any liquor store will need, my niche has always been those products that you will not find in most other retailers.

My passion is beer, specifically craft and import beers. I've been able to carve a nice niche and build a very respectable collection of beers, and to me the important part of this is also being able to pass the knowledge and love of these products along. My secondary passion is great wines. While I will confess that my beer knowledge is 100 times what my wine knowledge is, I have focused our wine selection on smaller boutique distributors that do not cater to grocery stores, chains, drug stores, ect. Quite like my stance on beer, you will find a few of the basics, but 90% of what I carry you will not find in most stores in the area.

This holds somewhat true for liquor as well, but honestly, there are not as many niche products in the liquor industry, but I think we have built a respectable bourbon category, as well as specialty liqueurs.

So back to my original question, what does this mean for our customers? Simply put, more. More selections, more space, more events like tastings, bottle signings, etc. Put what we have been doing into a new facility, and it changes the whole dynamic. Not so much of what we have been doing, but where we have been doing it. Better lighting, better atmosphere, more room, but the same quality, knowledge and customer service that you have received in the past.

We've added onto our walk in cooler space, increasing it from 12 doors to 22 doors dedicated to beer. We've increased our cold wine space to 6 doors. We added more square footage for wine, liquor and warm beer. We've added considerable space to hold our tastings and events.

While we are not 100% complete on Monday, we will be operational in the new building. Our plans are to clear out our old building and once that is done, we will level it and make that our new parking area. Once this is done, we plan on holding our true grand opening celebration to truly welcome everyone into our new store, and if nothing, help me get over the past 6 months of construction. After all, I'm just liquor store owner who moonlighted as a general contractor. Stop in and check us out.

Marking our territory?

Mailbag: A couple of questions are answered.

Regular reader Brad had a couple of questions following Friday's "Operation Progressive Pint: Current progress", and for various reasons I didn’t get the usual e-mail notification and missed them until today.

Here are Brad’s questions and my answers.

Does this (brewery expansion downtown) mean that the NABC may soon be selling kegs to the general public, or that kegs may be available to the general public through some distribution channel?

We’re able to do dock sales on a limited basis now, although we’re constrained by beer supply and periodic cooperage shortages. I suspect that the planned facility will be able to offer more consistency in the way of keg sales to the public. Otherwise, it is our hope that we’ll be shipping kegs to places like Indianapolis, Bloomington and Louisville.

Also, are there any plans (even sort of "Pie in the Sky" ideas) to expand the brewpub business of NABC/Rich O's? While I don't mind waiting 30 minutes (or more) for great pizza and incredible beer, I'm sure I could justify the trip from Louisville more often if 1/4 of my stay wasn't spent standing around.

Although it’s always been a challenge to deal with Fridays and Saturdays, the past year saw a big surge in business every night, and we weren’t prepared for it.

There has been a longtime conundrum with respect to seating, and the easiest way to explain it is that we’ve continued to add seating capacity with the same size kitchen, which was designed for about a third of the people who now are prepared to order food at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Obviously, the kitchen must eventually be expanded, but to do that means we lose seats, probably on the Rich O’s side.

We could begin semi-regular seating in the Prost banquet room area, but not until the kitchen expands. So, currently we’re working on a plan to change the way we use Prost. As it turns out, Prost really hasn’t been big enough to do regular functions like receptions, and our catering options have been both difficult to prepare and generally supplanted by a preference for pizza. Prost sits empty when we need to use it.

For the short term, and while retaining the option of using Prost as an events area for art shows, FOSSILS meetings and preferred seating during beer festivals, our plan is to establish Prost as a non-smoking bar and waiting area of sorts while we work on a permanent remake. This at least would give people a non-smoking area to wait for a table, and perhaps light appetizers could be offered. There'll be a flat-screen television so that sporting events become an option on that side of the building.

(Note: I always said no televisions in Rich O's proper. Prost is different.)

Hopefully this will give us time to figure out a plan for kitchen expansion, which hasn’t yet been done.

Operation Progressive Pint: Current progress.

It’s hardly a secret that we’ve been exploring options to expand the brewing side of the business. The existing pub, pizzeria and brewery have been going full tilt, and we’re running out of tricks to squeeze more people (and autos) into the available space.

Consequently, future growth will have to occur elsewhere, and I’m an advocate of a revitalizing downtown in New Albany. If any of this information comes as a surprise to you, consider reading a previous posting at the Curmudgeon’s blog:

"If Your Mother Says She Loves You, Check It Out."

Our strange internal company machinery is starting to clunk into something approximating a road gear, so I thought it might be time for an update.

There is a vacant building in downtown New Albany, and we’re about to begin serious negotiations with the owner pertaining to a remodel-to-spec, lease-to-own arrangement.

Roughly two-thirds of the 1960’s era industrial footprint would be home to a 15-barrel brewhouse (yet to be acquired) primarily intended to brew NABC brands for distribution off the premises. The remainder would be a taproom with a limited menu of snacks presumably modeled after the bill or fare at Belgian beer cafes.

We believe that it will be a difficult year for craft brewing given shortages in raw materials, but that this might actually enhance options if we’re in a position to be opportunistic with respect to equipment. In the meantime, the tap room could be up and running later this year with the beer we’re already brewing at the current home of NABC, where eventually the old brewhouse might become exclusively devoted to Belgians or another specific genre.

Yes, there’s much speculation and conjecture in all this, but progress is being made. The three owners are on board, along with the brewery team, and we’ve selected our friend John Campbell, late of BBC (Main & Clay), Schlafly and the Red geranium in New Harmony, to serve as de facto project manager. John is fond of telling people who ask that while the owners have a leisurely timetable, he expects to be up and running by Labor Day.

The business plan is being written, various action plans commenced, and the coming months -- not to mention the disposition of area bankers -- will tell the tale.

"If Your Mother Says She Loves You, Check It Out."

Last Friday afternoon, as I labored outside in the infuriating, unseasonable heat and humidity (90+ degrees F. in October) to prepare our house for the annual harvest Homecoming parade party on Saturday, my cell phone rang.

It was the friendly newspaper reporter for the New Albany Tribune, and seeing as he was providing the opportunity to take a break … could I tell him a bit about NABC’s proposed brewery expansion?

Well, honestly, the idea was just coming to the stage of transferring thoughts from pencil and scraps of paper to word processor, but if he wouldn’t mind it being exceedingly vague, I’d be happy to oblige.

Fine, he said; after all, it’s just for the paper’s “business wrap,” which usually takes up two paragraphs at the most, and on page three by the lingerie ads.

I told him what could be revealed at this very early stage of the game, cautioning that the whole thing was as prematurely nebulous as could be imagined, and then I went off to scrub toilets and forgot all about it.

That is, until Saturday morning, when the following appeared on page one:

Baylor planning brewery for downtown New Albany

New Albanian Brewing Co. proprietor Roger Baylor confirmed Friday he intends to renovate a downtown building with room to triple the brewing capacity of his uptown headquarters.

Geez.

It’s all good, and any publicity is good publicity – heaven knows I milk the system as often as possible – but I really must object to the headline. It’s the New Albanian Brewing Company that (I hope) will be coming to downtown, not just me. For the record, my partners are named Amy Baylor and Kate Lewison; either I give their names to people who don't repeat them, or I'm not asked at all, and it isn't fair.

At any rate, the basic information is there, and if it makes very little sense, that’s because (a) it’s hard to reduce 15 minutes of conversation into a few hundred words, and (b) I we’re at a very early and prematurely nebulous stage of the game.

First, we need to get through the remainder of the year, but yes, an expansion plan is on the drawing board. If you are a banker, please let me know. Otherwise, stay tuned.