A new craft beer store in the heart of downtown Raleigh aptly named Tasty Beverage Company has only one thing on its menu—co-owner Sean Pratt’s passion.
The store began as an idea in the mind of Sean Pratt, one of the co-owners and University graduate. Pratt received his B.S . in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing in 2007. Tasty Beverage went from an idea to a partnership when Pratt met Johnny Belflower , a graduate of Full Sail University in Florida, through mutual friends at various beer events.
“Once learning of the idea I had been talking about, Johnny got on board,” Pratt said. “We both love beer and have a passion to help the beer culture in this area to continue to flourish.”
Seated in the Raleigh Depot shopping center between restaurants Jibarra and Tuscan Blue, Tasty Beverage overlooks a cobblestone parking lot with a vintage, almost quaint feeling on a slow day. But Aug. 22, cars filled the parking lot, and the shopping center has a new addition—a long line of thirsty customers, waiting for their chance to try some unique beers.
Pratt said the taproom at Big Boss Brewing Company in Raleigh and Bruisin’ Ales in Asheville inspired the idea for Tasty Beverage. Curious about the ins and outs of the world of beer and the type of people that make it, Pratt and Belflower said they hope to provide a store soley dedicated to beer in the Warehouse district of downtown Raleigh.
“We recognized the need and we thought it would be an awesome job,” Belflower said.
The duo received funding and set to work on creating their dream beer store in Raleigh.
“[In spite of the current economic climate], eventually somebody thought it was a good enough idea,” Belflower said.
And judging the crowd outside of Tasty Beverage on its soft open the evening of Aug. 22, the investment will pay off, according to the owners.
Patrons including curious college students and seasoned beer aficionados brought out for the store’s launch by a shared passion for tasty beverages. The turnout was even higher than Pratt and Belflower expected from the signups on Facebook.
“There were about 190 people who RSVP’d on Facebook,” Belflower said. “
According to Belflower , the turnout came close to 450 people.
The soft open itself, slated to run from 6-8 that night, only began to wind down around 10:00 p.m .
Darren Quinlan , regional sales manager for Shmaltz Brewing Company, had set up a tasting table near the back of the store, but only an hour and a half into the opening, the samples were already gone.
Quinlan’s company met with the owners of Tasty Beverage at a trade show, and they decided to have a representative for their brand at the store’s open.
“Prior to this, there really wasn’t anything like this for the downtown Raleigh area,” Quinlan said.
According to Quinlan , beer drinkers of Raleigh are looking beyond macro-brewery selections.
“[The long lines] just goes to show you that people are willing to stand outside for an hour or two to see a new beer store. People wouldn’t just stand outside for a Budweiser.”
As the crowd thinned out and the night grew darker, the hectic atmosphere of Tasty Beverage began to slow down. The stock of beer shelves dwindled.
The store sells beer from breweries less than half an hour away to some from distant places like Japan, Denmark and Germany.
The groups of beer enthusiasts dwindled, leaving only family and friends celebrating Tasty Beverage’s first night of business.
The store will be officially open this week, according to owners.
“We hope all of the humans at N.C . State will come check us out…and obtain many tasty beverages,” Pratt said. “We look forward to talking with everyone who comes in.”
