Today we’d like to introduce you to Suzanne Schalow.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I moved to Boston in late ’96 on an academic mission. I never left. With my previous experience in the restaurant business, it wasn’t long before I was slinging food and Boston-based beers in Harvard Square while hammering away at my studies. As all things evolve, I eventually landed with a wonderful family-owned restaurant, beer bar and music club, just down from Harvard Law School. Evolving and building on beer visions that had existed before me and meeting the love of my life, (who happened to be on the culinary side of things), more than a decade zoomed by before I even knew it.
Back then, I was a wine lover (and still am), though it seems like a “best-kept secret” around the flagship shop. I remembering interviewing for what would eventually turn into a General Manager position (mentioned above), looking at the taps (then 24) and thinking, “I have a lot of work to do if I take this job”! And yeah, I took the job. I dug in my heels, rolled up my sleeves and began trying to understand this industry. Then, BeerAdvocate was less than three years old and there weren’t quite 1,500 breweries in the US. In fact, many of the “regional breweries” that helped push craft beer where it is today, were just getting started, too.
My questions and interest in beer got me moving, traveling and talking. I met a ton of people that understood it better than I: Jason, Todd & Candice Alstrom, BeerAdvocate; Andy Crouch, a Cambridge-based beer writer; Lucy Saunders, a beer & food chef and author; Sam & Mariah Calagione, Dogfish Head; Ken Grossman, Sierra Nevada; Patrick & Rachel Rue, The Bruery and Ray Daniels, Cicerone, to name a few. For every answer, I had more questions, which eventually pulled me all the way in. Realizing what many had already attempted to highlight, that there was much work needed in an industry, that would continue to grow, I jumped in.
Beer became a major player, alongside the food and service that we were after in that wonderful place on Mass Ave in Cambridge. Kate & I elevated our beer game to one of the best and early players in the Boston-area, giving an understanding to the now nearly unheard of Beer Dinner. We were after the experience of the food paired and cooked with beer, which, quite frankly is still something, when done correctly, that can be the best aspects of both eating and drinking!
With Kate’s kitchen and culinary experience, and my long-time efforts in the front of the house, we starting talking and thinking about opening our own business. The one glaring thing that was missing in Boston was a Bottle Shop/Beer Store. We wanted to create a place to shop for beer, that was similar, conceptually, to Wine Shops we had visited. We wanted to create an environment that built around the product; the beer, but not just mainstream stuff. We wanted to build the Gibraltar of a Brick & Mortar Shop that would put amazing (craft) beer as its center and focus. And so we did.
A few months in, we realized one store was not going to be enough and began the conversations about how to build and grow Craft Beer Cellar, eventually deciding to franchise the concept. We are currently 33 stores in 15 states, including MA, NH, ME, VT, DC, VA, NC, FL, MO, AR, TX, MI, NY, WI and CA.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Running any business is very hard work. Showing up, every day, long hours, sales goals, projections, making sure everything gets ordered, put away, and delivered. Ensuring that the people that have chosen to work with us, at the flagship store stay healthy and have what they need to continue being successful, with us. Taking exquisite care of every customer that walks through our doors, every day, every time. It’s fun and exciting, but it’s not easy and has its challenges, from week to week.
Just add franchise company:
I believe that Kate & I make it look easy, which is something that’s taken us years of honing our skills. We both grew up in the “customer service” industry, which, I suspect, many take for granted. We have a masterful game plan and we provide teaching & training, along the way, with an extremely talented leadership team, as well as a high level of assets and value added to our stores. It’s a challenge to keep moving and stay ahead of the masses out there, that aren’t in the amazing beer game for the long haul, but we stay focused and sprint on some days!
Please tell us about Craft Beer Cellar.
Craft Beer Cellar is a good beer bottle shop (and tap room, in states where it is allowed)!
We are an extremely passionate group of stores that care deeply about the quality and character of beer being produced all over this world. We’re extremely motivated to serve our customers in the most hospitable way (we’re beer concierges) and we put beer education as a top priority in everything we do! These are the things that set us apart. We are industry leaders in our field and take the business of beer very seriously, while still having fun and working hard, every single day.
We’ve grown from a single store to 33 in just over seven years, with nine in-planning and many more to come. We’re in constant conversations with people all over the US, who are interested in opening their own Craft Beer Cellar. We seek out smart, business-minded people, who understand the hard work that is involved in owning a business, want to be part of an exceptional team and are beer geeks, at their core.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
Running any business is hard work. Running a retail business and a Franchise Company is even more difficult.
Franchising has been tough and we’ve learned a ton along the way. We now have an absolutely amazing group of people, from our leadership team at HQ to our day-to-day Attorney, Franchise Consultant and Franchise law legal team. Early on, we were extremely excited that people wanted to join forces with us, that we didn’t have the best interviewing process (for Store Owners) in place.
Franchise Owners are an extension and representation of our brand. We must put forth the time, energy and resources to recruit the very best people that will share our name and uphold the vision and philosophy of Craft Beer Cellar!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://craftbeercellar.com/
- Phone: 617.993.3214
- Email: suzanne@craftbeercellar.com
- Instagram: @suzanneschalow @craftbeercellar
- Facebook: /suzanne.l.schalow /craftbeercellar
- Twitter: @suzanneschalow @craftbeercellar
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