LHBS Closing

[John Sand]

We had our last meeting there last night. It was a great meeting in spite of the weather, everyone stayed late. And we started making some plans to energize the club: experiments, common brews, rotating locations.
The LHBS has been for sale for a while, clearly no takers. I thought the place could have been run better, but I don't want to own a store. There is another, smaller HBS only about ten minutes farther away, so I still have a viable option. But Brewtopia/The Hop Shop was my first, I'll never forget her!
Anyway, it was fun while it lasted. It's not me, it's definitely you. And so on.

[Beer-lord]

Why are they closing? Retirement or poor business?
I can say that I'm starting to see more smaller, mom and pop top businesses close. They say the economy is better but I've not seen it personally with my business. Mine's been off since 2008. But, there are some small businesses that are booming. Can't quite figure it out.
Our LHBS supposedly is doing well and they've hired 2 more people but I still wonder how they all get by.

[John Sand]

I think it was a combination of things. The store is in a little mall in Port Jefferson, a thriving local destination. They sell beer, wine and cheese making supplies, as well as a large variety of craft beer. The founder sold it, bought it back, sold it again, and sort of managed it. He helped a bar owner open another HBS partnered with this one, but stopped working there. It may be that it never paid enough for an absentee owner. We have seen some signs of recovery around here, but most people aren't feeling it yet. The store also was only open until 6pm year round. Port Jeff is mobbed on Summer weekends, I know some of the customers thought it might sell more of everything if they stayed open later then.

[FedoraDave]

At least you have an alternative, John.

It's funny; the LHBS I use now always seems to be busy. It's located in northern NJ, and there aren't too many alternative choices, from what I can see. But the owner is a young guy, and his store concentrates on beer brewing. They have some wine-making stuff there, but it's mostly beer. And I have to say, they're doing it right. They have a great selection of bulk grains, a good supply of hops, plenty of equipment, they have in-house brewing sessions for n00bs, and they host a homebrew club on Thursdays. They also have an email list, which always seems to be updating every time I go. I have to drive about 45 minutes to get there, but it's worth it for the quality ingredients and the excellent advice I get. They helped me no end when I started putting together my kegging system.

I hope your new LHBS meets your needs. Although Long Island is pretty much wine country now, isn't it?

[John Sand]

Thank goodness for the grapes. When I was a child, Long Island was famous for ducks and potatoes. I know there was a point in the past when we led the country in ducks and oysters. But cheaper land and other factors moved those things away. (Overfishing in the oysters, plus brown tides, to which the duck farms contributed.) Anyway, a few decades back someone had the crazy idea to grow wine grapes here. Slowly it took over the east end agriculture. Some government foresight (!) also helped. Local governments bonded money to buy the development rights to farmland, allowing the farmers to continue, while preventing suburban sprawl.
Ah, yes, but what about the beer? Booming, I'm happy to report. We have stellar ground water and a thirsty population. There are 21 craft brew companies on Long Island. (Not counting any Brooklyn and Queens, which are on Long Island physically, but not generally referred to as such.) I say "companies", because a few of then contract brew. There are also at least two more in the works.
I think that my LHBS could have continued well as a One Man Operation with occasional part time help. The other one is even smaller, with limited supplies. But there are a couple more in Suffolk, including Karp's, which is excellent, but almost an hour away.

[FedoraDave]

Yes, I'm somewhat familiar with the Island's agricultural story. My brother has been a teacher in the Riverhead schools for a long time, and as someone who enjoys the grape from time to time, he was quite taken with all the wineries that sprang up since he moved there. The east end is a wonderful place, as I have fond memories of summer vacations on Shelter Island. We had family there, and my parents still have a cottage which they've been renting on a regular basis. A beautiful place, Shelter Island.

[Banjo-guy]

I use Karp's even though it is an hour away from me.

There are a couple of LHBS in Nassau. There is Homebrew and Handgrenades in Baldwin and Glen Cove Home Brew in Glen Cove. These don't help if your in Suffolk county.

There is a hydroponic store that I went into a couple of times that I see in Queens from the LIE. Its a good place to buy stoppers and tubing. I question how fresh the ingredients are.

Homebrew and Handgrenades has a home brew club that meets on the third Thursday of the month in various locations. The first meeting had over 50 people.

[John Sand]

I was at Homebrew and Hand Grenades to drop off my submissions for Homebrew Alley, I met the owner, nice guy. The Patchogue HBS (Back Alley Brew) has meetings too. I might try there one day, but we plan to continue our meetings. I think this will energize the club. We already have a plan to brew the same recipe and compare results. We're using the APA from BCS. Sounds like fun.

[DaYooper]

I have to guess a lot depends on how excited the owner(s) and employees are about working the store. I have to guess that most stores are difficult to be owned by an absentee owner just because of scale. Also, you are dealing with for the most part a cash business with lots of bulk products so you really need employees you can trust and arent going to start pocketing anything or running wild. It certainly is difficult.

John, where we are moving they have done the same thing with rights. My parents' first farm is only allowed to have one house since people have taken to building their McMansions on the peninsula. Because of the foresight, it is very balanced with the "nice" houses being on the water along with public beaches and boat launches and parks with the middle being the farmers. Worked out well for everyone.

[FedoraDave]

I have to guess a lot depends on how excited the owner(s) and employees are about working the store. I have to guess that most stores are difficult to be owned by an absentee owner just because of scale. Also, you are dealing with for the most part a cash business with lots of bulk products so you really need employees you can trust and arent going to start pocketing anything or running wild. It certainly is difficult.

This is another thing I like about my LHBS. The owner is often there when I show up on a Saturday morning; he runs the brew-on-premises seminars; his mother works there part-time! And the other fellows who work there are also avid homebrewers themselves (they've talked to me about their own recipes, processes, and ingredients, so I know they're legit).

This creates an outlet that is totally dedicated, and it seems they all have some stake in its success. I wish I could spend more time there, and attend the homebrew club meetings, but my schedule simply won't allow it. Frankly, I wish they'd open a satellite store in my county. I might quit my job and go work there!