After coronavirus pandemic closes taprooms, Charlotte breweries open up distribution
If you were to roll down Central Avenue on any given Saturday before this pandemic, you might have seen a crowd of people at Resident Culture Brewing Co. for the brewery’s latest can releases.
And for good reason. Resident Culture — and other local breweries — have higher margins in their taprooms than they do at area bars and bottle shops. Keeping high-demand cans in-house is just smart business.
But of course, things have changed since taprooms are now closed to the public due to North Carolina orders meant to halt the spread of COVID-19. While breweries are evolving to include to-go, curbside or delivery options, they can no longer count on taproom revenue. With on-premise sales gone, many are now pushing more beer out to other accounts.
That is one of the reasons the founders of Resident Culture Brewing Co. decided to start distributing its beer to Lowes Foods, which has locations in Harrisburg and Mooresville.
Seeing beers like Burial Beer Co., Fonta Flora Brewery, Heist Brewery and High Branch on the shelves helped alleviate any concerns the brewery might have had about sending its beer further from home, Resident Culture co-founder Phillip McLamb said. And while he acknowledges that the margins are lower through distribution, he’s grateful for the opportunity — and to keep his entire staff employed. “We are in survival mode, so being picky about where our beer goes isn’t something we can afford to do right now,” McLamb said.
Lowes Foods locations
Resident Culture is currently sending IPAs, some fruited kettle sours and the occasional lager to about 10 Lowes Foods locations, with more on the way. The brewery has also started sending more cans to other accounts that would have previously ordered kegs.
Morganton’s Fonta Flora Brewery, which recently opened a tasting room in Optimist Hall, has been distributing to Lowes Foods for about a year now. Core offerings like Hop Beard, Whippoorwill and Nebo Pilsner can be found across 19 stores, with seasonal offerings as well.
When Fonta Flora opened its production brewery in Nebo, brewer Todd Boera wanted to be sure that any distributed beer was held to the brewery’s standards (especially in regards to freshness).
“I mean, back when we actually became more of a production-style brewery, sending beer to further away places definitely made me lose sleep at night,” Boera said.
Grocery store distribution
Prior to Lowes Foods, Fonta Flora’s only grocery store distribution was through Whole Foods Market and the now-closed Earth Fare. While Boera was once “apprehensive when it came to entering the grocery store sector,” he was impressed by Lowes Foods’ commitment to craft beer.
“Honestly, what really put us at ease when it came to linking up with Lowes Foods was their attention to detail and their commitment to having an awesome craft beer program,” Boera said. “They sought us out and after looking at our business model, we decided that they would be a great partner for us.”
Keith Anderson, beverage merchandiser at Lowes Foods, has brought many local breweries to the store’s shelves and taps. Recently, he has seen an uptick in breweries wanting to increase their off-premise distribution. “This might not have been an option they were looking to do a few months ago,” said Anderson, who oversees the company’s selection of independent craft beer. “Now this is a new opportunity for both of us.”
While the store’s Beer Dens can no longer pour pints for customers, they are still filling growlers and Crowlers. Right now, the store is offering discounts on packaged beers from North and South Carolina breweries.
Through its “Beer Run” program, Lowes Foods uses its trucks to pick up beer from smaller breweries who aren’t working with a distributor.
“We can bring those amazing beers directly to our guests,” Anderson said. “This has really been mutually beneficial during this time of COVID-19. While their taprooms are closed, we can really help get their product to a broader audience.”
Boera and McLamb both note that they are also still receiving a lot of support from their longtime bottle shop accounts, as well. Those bottle shops have played a large part in building the business for many breweries, but in this strange new world, don’t be surprised if you start seeing small breweries going bigger with their distribution.
“Being small and nimble has really helped us weather the storm thus far, but it is yet to be seen if we will ever have the same taproom business we enjoyed for two-plus years once this is all over,” McLamb said. “Fingers crossed the ‘new normal’ is somewhat like it used to be, for all our sakes.”
