Microbrewery Restaurant, I'm thinking about it

Northern Brewer General
1

Microbrewery Restaurant, I’m looking into starting one. Nothing may ever come of the idea, but still I am seriously looking into it.

N.W. AR. area just south of S.W. MO. area somewhere. I have not decided for certain where I would want to locate it.
Problem with AR. is too many dry counties and all the best locations I can get reasonable for a restaurant are in dry counties :oops:
Now I’ll have to look at other areas for locations.

The advantage of going with a brew pub instead of just a restaurant alone is I can buy beer wholesale and resale it retail as well as what I’d brew on site. I could sell wholesale my own brews to retail stores, and retail on site for on premise use or to take home also.
The extra cost is not so bad for the licensing that I have found so far, course all the equipment needed to brew will be a big expense and headache.

I’ve thought of opening a small restaurant for awhile anyway.

Anyone around AR. probably just south of Branson, MO. know of some decent cheap locations I could check out?
At this time I am kinda thinking of around Eureka Springs, AR. or Mountain Home, AR. areas to look in.

Also if anyone reasonably close would like to help out or have extra beer stuff like kegs or brew pots etc… to loan or sell if I do this maybe we could work something out.

I don’t plan to do anything until at least Jan. 2013 or later other than look for locations and research all the requirements a bit more. If I do this I’d like to be open about mid March 2013.

Of course this is all dependent on rather or not the world ends Dec 21 2012 at end of the Mayan calender LOL

2

Love your idea, but this may burst your bubble. I am an architect who specializes in restaurants and sports bars. If a client came to me and said they were just starting to look for locations, but wanted to open in March 2013, I would laugh hysterically. At least in the DC area.

I don’t have time to convey all my concerns right now, but have you consulted a real estate attny? A liquor attny?

3

I used to live in MI and there were quite a few out there and very popular. I’ld advance your timeline by 6mo or a year otherwise good luck and dont rush things.

4

You may want to check this site:

http://morebeer.com/search/102374///BrewPub_Manuals

Not sure what you do for a living now or how many hours per day/week you work but it is my understanding that you might as well plan on working 18 hour days, 7 days per week or paying someone else to work 18 hour days, 7 days a week if you open a restaurants/brewpub.

With that said, Good luck! I hope your successful at fulfilling your dream!

5

I’m just wondering what happened to that guy in TN (I think) that was wanting to open his own brewery a few years ago. You know, he had that big ratty looking pot in his yard and everyone gave him good advice but he felt like everyone was ragging on his dream. He was adamant that he would be up and running. I might ride up there and have a pint this weekend. Or not.

6

Yep, the 18hrs a day kinda goes with owning any real business LOL

Actually when I say I want to be opened so soon, I want the location approved and have the restaurant part opened. That could be simple and easy as just finding a recently closed restaurant which is fully stocked with equipment, just get all the legal paperwork done clean the place up and buy the food basically. That don’t take long.

I don’t want the locations but I know of 3 good ones available if I wanted the area. They are in MO. and I want to be in AR. though. Being so near the state line I am looking into both states as I could do either state, but I am looking more to AR. for lots of reasons including antique vehicles I have.

The brewery part may take a little longer to get running of course. To get started I’d only be interested in meeting any minimum requirements and expand from there.
I’ve been told by the State (so far) that there is no minimum requirement for brew capacity. I am limited to 5,000 barrels a year. If this is true then unless I hit snags with Federal, I could technically get my permits with what I have now for brewing and perhaps just a little more equipment which may not cost that much.

Being I can also buy beer to resell for on site use, 35% of what I make I believe it says, then if I were making up 100 bottles a day average I can sell 135 bottles per day average. It would not take much to make 100 bottles, that’s about a 10 gallon batch? Course most would be tap, not bottles.

As a Native Brewer/Microbrewery Restaurant I can also do offsite sales at events. This is another reason I’d want to be open about March if possible if I do this. The summer and fall next year could be very profitable if I have things ready. There are several events I could cater with both food and beer. It’s not just a matter of business in the location which I expect to be fairly limited to begin with at least, but by having the location open for business I can do far more business with outdoor off site sales.

It’s really more a matter of being able to sell beer legally than it is a location as I have many outlets for the beer if legal to sell it. I want the restaurant anyway, if it’s setup for food sales I can sell my special recipes for take home eat later products. I stick the lasagna in a tray, freeze it, and you cook it later.

I got plans, just not got a location yet.

As far as what I do, well I cook allot, travel allot, and do about everything else. LOL
I don’t really do anything, but I do nearly everything. :shock:

7

some things to keep in mind… all depends on how big your brewery is. do you want 5 barrels, 10, 15, 20. A lot of brewerys start out small, and end up regretting it needing to upgrade ( to meet demand) . which can prove costly

  1. alcohol tax in your state + federal tax
  2. remodeling whatever building you purchase. you will need floor drains, co2 lines, a large refrigerated room, exhaust vents to the outdoors (depending on what you use to power your kettle), also a steam vent going outdoors for your kettle.
  3. permission to remodel said building. this might involve permits.
  4. permission to produce alcohol on the premises. might involve permits.
  5. kegs. how many will you need to get a solid rotation of beer in, and beer out.

  6. of conditioning tanks and fermenters.

  7. distribution?
  8. pumps, hoses, connectors, clamps, chiller, air stones for carbonating, gauges, keg cleaner, bottle filling/cleaning unit.
  9. permit to sell beer
  10. lauter tun?
  11. logo, name. copyrights
  12. unforeseen costs

Im sure there is much more.

depends how big and what you plan to do, 5000 barrels a year is a lot (155k gallons). remember that a brew pub will need to make a bulk of it’s money from the food. you will need a quality and consistent chef

8

Like I said, been designing restaurants for 30 years. We have a saying:

How do you make a little money in the restaurant business? Start out with a LOT!

9

[quote=“560sdl”]Like I said, been designing restaurants for 30 years. We have a saying:

How do you make a little money in the restaurant business? Start out with a LOT![/quote]

haha, I like it.

while attending brewlab, one of our assignments was to present a business plan for a fictional brewery. I started doing one for a brewpub and quickly realized how complicated and pricey the restaurant part would be. I decided to do my presentation on a production brewery instead, and found it to be more simple

10

[quote=“560sdl”]Like I said, been designing restaurants for 30 years. We have a saying:

How do you make a little money in the restaurant business? Start out with a LOT![/quote]

Yep, I like that.

Honestly though much is simply a mater of location. If it’s already been a restaurant recently and met requirements then there is no re-modeling, designing, or building up needed to open a Restaurant.
Ya, if I wanted to get fancy and gut the place out to bare walls and start from nothing then there would be more involved and lot’s more headaches.

Heck, I’m not trying to open a Coltons, Ryan’s, Ruby Tuesday, Olive Garden, Golden Corral, or nothing! So I don’t need any of their big fancy stuff or headaches.

Many of the things mentioned, like floor drains, vents, etc… would most likely already be installed in a restaurant building so then it’s a mater of making sure they would be approved for a little Brewery.
It really boils down to finding a location that is 90% complete and be happy with it as is.
Maybe have a large fancy kitchen area, scale it down to a small section for Burgers and Hot Dogs and set up the Brewery at the rear or side.
A nice out of business fast food location could be perfect. Hard tile floors, floor drains, vents, etc…
Already set up with a good grill ready to go for burgers, steaks, fried potatoes, eggs, etc…
Rip out the over large deep fryers and put the brew pots under the exiting vents!
Place would already have walk in coolers and freezer, required sinks, etc… and handi-cap restrooms and so forth.
Dinning/bar sitting area out front, put in the bar and taps where the register counter is.

There’s tons of almost ready to use buildings out there, it’s just a mater of finding the right one in the right location.

Heck I know where there is an out of business small truck stop that should meet all the requirements and I’d never need a kitchen that big so 1/2 could be sectioned fast and easy to be the small Brewery. But it’s not in a location I want.

11

[quote=“S.Scoggin”]some things to keep in mind… all depends on how big your brewery is. do you want 5 barrels, 10, 15, 20. A lot of brewerys start out small, and end up regretting it needing to upgrade ( to meet demand) . which can prove costly

  1. alcohol tax in your state + federal tax
  2. remodeling whatever building you purchase. you will need floor drains, co2 lines, a large refrigerated room, exhaust vents to the outdoors (depending on what you use to power your kettle), also a steam vent going outdoors for your kettle.
  3. permission to remodel said building. this might involve permits.
  4. permission to produce alcohol on the premises. might involve permits.
  5. kegs. how many will you need to get a solid rotation of beer in, and beer out.

  6. of conditioning tanks and fermenters.

  7. distribution?
  8. pumps, hoses, connectors, clamps, chiller, air stones for carbonating, gauges, keg cleaner, bottle filling/cleaning unit.
  9. permit to sell beer
  10. lauter tun?
  11. logo, name. copyrights
  12. unforeseen costs

Im sure there is much more.

depends how big and what you plan to do, 5000 barrels a year is a lot (155k gallons). remember that a brew pub will need to make a bulk of it’s money from the food. you will need a quality and consistent chef[/quote]

Yep, tons of stuff there to consider. Much of it can be avoided by simply finding a proper building to start with. Some things are optional, Like I probably don’t have to do much with copyrights at all, Logo I may not need to worry too much about either to start.
Equipment needs to be approved, but how much or how large is somewhat optional.

Sales of food along with the beer is good, but not necessarily need to be a major part of sales.
If I can get set up in the area I most prefer to be then I’ll have many other options for sales also beside the at the one location.

Finding the Federal info is the hardest part right now. Trying to sort what does apply and what does not. I’m finding stuff that contradicts itself all over the place. Many things I think only apply to large scale Breweries only, and other things are more simple for what I have in mind.

Tax bond is $1,000 I did find. Still not found cost of permits yet, though I found allot about permits I need to apply for.

Per barrel tax rate is less for a small scale Brewery up to a certain amount per year.

Interesting thing I did find is I can remove for personal family use 200 gallons of beer tax free per year, I guess that is to keep up with what we can home brew and not need to brew in separate locations LOL

12

I recommend checking out www.probrewer.com. Spend some time digging through previous posts and you are sure to learn alot.

13

Locally in MD I talked to a new small regional brewery. Granted it was not a restaurant, but one thing he kept saying is that once you start, the Federal Government considers everything you make is their beer but you get the privilege of making it and selling it. He said the paperwork is nuts.

14

I have not given up on this plan, just may delay it for a short time.

What I am finding for regulations, permits, etc… is not so bad so far though still a few more things to be looking into still.

However I found a cheap older trailer house to buy and will be setting up a couple shops in it after the first of the the year. Putting all my bikes in it in living room area, and a small machine shop with all my tools, and a large brew area for some practice etc… LOL
This will take some time to get setup and work done.

15

I just saw this post. You might talk to the owner off Springfield Brew Co. They could probably offer some good advice for planning in MO.