by Leah and Elina Furman Published September 29, 1997 Read more Small Business Brainstorms	Doubtless some of you are stumped. What is a brewpub? A perfectly valid query, as there are only about 1,000 brewpubs in the United States today. A brewpub is simply an American take on the English ale house. That's right, a neighborhood restaurant which serves freshly made microbrews (a beer produced in quantities lower than 20,000 barrels per year) instead of your usual Coors, Miller et al.. Now, why, you may be asking, would anyone open a brewpub instead of, say, a bar? No, this is not one of those why-ask-why moments. There's a great reason behind the recent success of microbreweries. With the turn of the century just a stone's throw away, Americans have been exhibiting some very strange behaviors. We villify Joe Camel and the Marlboro Man, yet we sell our souls for Castro's cigars. We yearn for rusticity, yet we're constantly trying to improve technology. Can it be that the whole world has suddenly gone mad?! Not at all. We want good health. We want nature. But we also want what we want. In other words, we're exhibiting man's timeless drive to have that cake and eat it too. By opening a brewpub, you'd be joining some of today's greatest business minds, who are cleaning up in the "gourmet" vice racket. Check out Ben & Jerry, Starbucks, Outback Steakhouses, and American Spirit cigarettes. No matter what the FDA or the Surgeon General says, caffeine, cholesterol, and nicotine will turn a profit faster than a Good Humor man in the Sahara — if served up with the "freshest ingredients," that is. Purity and freshness. These buzzwords are the reason that microbrewskis are gaining an ever-growing portion of the U.S. beer market. Since our nation's taste buds have only just begun to blossom, the time is ripe for you beer-loving entrepreneurs to take your passion and make it happen. Raking in the Dough If you play your locale, decor, and advertising cards right, count on garnering anywhere from $500,000 to a cool million in profits each year. At that rate you could retire a millionaire by the time you're thirty.
You could retire a millionaire by the time you're thirty.	Start-Up Costs and Financing: This here's the kicker. Starting up a brewpub takes some seriously long greeen. Equipment, real estate, kitchen and seating space don't come cheap. So, before you reap any profits, you're going to have to come up with a whopping $780,000 (on average). You can ask your friendly neighborhood banker for a loan, or you can pitch your business plan to some ritzy acquaintances. If you're ready to part with a megachunk of business ownership, a venture capitalist may also come to your rescue. If all else fails, there is always the U.S. Small Business Administration. Call 1-800-U ASK SBA for more information. Publications: Reading the trades may not sound like an evening at the Apollo right now, but just wait until you're at the helm of your very own enterprise. You'll find all the brewpub news that's fit to print in the pages of these mags. The American Brewer: Owens Publications, Hayward, CA. Phone: 800-646-2701. For a mere $150, you'll get a complete blueprint for building your own brewpub. A subscription to The American Brewer is included in the fee. The New Brewer: Association of Brewers, Boulder, CO. Phone: 303-447-0816. Non-profit association dedicated to helping brewers nationwide. Brewer's Digest: Siebel Publishing Co., Chicago, IL. Phone: 773-463-3400. Modern Brewery Age: Business Journals Inc., Norwalk, CT. Phone: 203-853-6015. License and Insurance: The business of alcohol is no laughing matter. Thou shalt cover your assets is the first commandment of liquor sales. If you don't want to lose your lock, stock, and barrels, hook up with an insurance sales man ASAP. You'll also need a bevy of licenses if you plan to go legit; one for beer and wine sales, another for hard liquor sales, a local business license, and the required tax permits. Every restaurant in the country is also responsible for obtaining a county health permit. You're playing with the big boys now, that's right, the ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms). This is one gang you don't want to cross, so fill out the brewer's notice and the brewer's bond, and stay on their good side. Market Research & Selecting a Location: Use your Internet savvy to check out brewing industry statistics on the Web. These will give you a good idea of where to plant your business. In general, a community of over 50,000 will provide you with a solid customer base. Consider the more affluent areas and shopping districts, as true beer afficianados are still relegated to the higher income brackets. Brewpubs have been known to become quite the popular haunts in college towns such as Boulder, Colorado. Yet there are plenty of nice universities out there just waiting to be tapped into. The bulk of your profits will come from alcohol sales, so price wisely. Here's a tip: A $2.00 mug of brew only costs you $0.07 to produce. Quite a mark-up! But before staking your claim to any one locale, investigate the competition. Check around area liqour stores, microwbreweries, and brewpubs. If you find that you're the new kid on an already crowded block, wise up and scope out other zones.
WEB RESOURCES: U.S. Small Business Administration Online A terrific resource with information about the Small Business Act, tips on starting and financing your business, local resources, and much more. The Pub Brewing Company Consulting/installation firm offers useful information and a FAQ about the brewing process. CDC Supply A complete line of brewing equipment and supplies. Brewing Techniques Online Award-winning magazine on the "art and science of small-scale brewing."	Getting the Word Out: Witness the publicity hound's three step: press release, grand opening, and free beer. The press release should announce this concept restaurant to the area's residents by way of a newspaper. You could also hit up some radio stations for air time. Maybe consider doing a promotion that would benefit both your brewpub and the radio station. The grand opening should be staged as an affair to remember. Provide music, party favors with your logo, tours of the brewing facility, and even beer samples. Free beer, well that speaks for itself. Plant coupons in the Yellow Pages and the papers — "free microwbrew with this coupon" is one slogan that's bound to get noticed. Cast and Crew: Contrary to popular belief, good help is not that hard to find. You'll need a restaurant manager, a few cooks, as well as scads of support personnel (waiters, bar tenders, hosts, busboys). Of coure, you're not serving anything without the headliner of your payroll — the master brewer. Search long and hard for the best one money can buy. Remember, the quality of your product rests almost entirely upon this employee's shoulders, so be prepared to pay a lofty sum for the master's services. Leah and Elina Furman are freelance writers living in Chicago, and are the authors of The Everything After College Book, to be released by Adams Media in the fall of '97. Leah and Elina invite readers to visit their homepage at members.tripod.com/~ElinaF. © 1997 Leah Furman and Elina Furman. All rights reserved.