Thoughts from a unique beer distributor

In last week's interview, Nick Wendowski of Stone's Beer & Beverage Market shared some outside-the-box thoughts on growth as a beer store owner/distributor in Philadelphia: namely, growth isn't his primary goal.

In this week's clip Nick describes how that point of view is reflected in the distribution and wholesale side of his business.

Like last week's, this week's clip doesn't offer much tactical advice for most of you (who work at/own bars, restaurants, and breweries), but I think it's important to surface points of view like Nick's, since they aren't exactly common in the industry or the larger business world.

It's also interesting to hear a play-by-play of how beer stores can double as distributors in PA.

Here are takeaways from the interview clip:

• Across the country, the standard approach to the relationship between distributors and bars/restaurants is mostly on distributors' terms: you order from them and they tell you the day you'll get the delivery. They don't even tell you the time, and the person delivering isn't the person with whom you placed the order. This happens with the 8-10 or however many distributors you work with.
• Because PA has some unique liquor laws and Nick has the right license, he's able to both be a beer store and distribute to bars and restaurants.
• Basically, he buys from the bigger distributors just like many bars and restaurants do. But unlike in most states, he can then go on and sell what he's bought to bars and restaurants.
• There's a markup, of course.
• So with that markup, why would anyone use him as their distributor? He can deliver everything you want at once and come exactly when you want. He can even come same-day.
• For some folks, that time savings, control, and the rich distributor relationship is more than worth the higher cost.
• And that rich relationship is what Nick's after, too. Like he said in last week's interview, he's making a lifestyle play that centers on high quality relationships with everyone he does business with. And this model allows for exactly that. He doesn't need a huge client volume. He can make do with a fraction of what others need to survive.

Check out the interview clip for more from Nick about rich industry relationships and how his unique wholesale business works:

👉 As a reminder, if you haven't already, subscribe to our Youtube channel, where you can check out 70+ (and counting) video clips from industry vets and experts like Nick. You'll find tactical advice on stuff like:

• Social media marketing
• De-escalation training
• Staff training
• Supplier relationships
• And a ton more

Why?

Because TV Menus:

• Automatically update in seconds
• Always look professional
• Are easy for guests to read
• Help guests order faster
• Aren't as expensive or difficult to setup as you might think (more on that below)

Put simply, TV Menus can save you/your team time and make it easy for customers to order.

Of course, they aren't right for everyone—if you've got a quaint, cozy Belgian beer bar you don't want to jam a TV Menu above the bar.

But if you already have a few TVs, it might be worth trying, just to see if they resonate with your customers. In the right situation TV Menus can lead to a meaningful increase in beer sales.

How can I do it?

You could do this manually. How you'd implement it depends on what works for your team, but it could look like this:

• Get a smart TV (i.e. one w/ an internet browser).
• Design a slideshow on Google Slides to serve as your menu. Make sure you tune the settings to rotate screens correctly, etc.
• Use your smart TV's browser to access the Google Slides file.
• Make sure all members of the team know how to edit the file.
• Anytime your beer selection changes, visit the file to delete the beer that's gone and add new beers.

It certainly takes some time and training, but doing it manually like this could be worth it if that's your only option.

Unsurprisingly, Jimmy Buffett's beer spiked in popularity after he passed away on Friday night. Landshark Lager's page on BeerMenus saw views increase by over 300% vs. the previous week.

I was a child reared on Buffett—growing up it's all my dad listened to in the car. So on Saturday I made a margarita and took some time to consider his accomplishments.

Musically, he certainly put plenty of banal stuff into the world, but there are a lot of beautiful, contemplative songs in his catalog, too (I've been listening to this one a lot). And when you consider his multiple visits to the top of the New York Times bestseller list, his tribe of extremely devoted fans, and of course his vast business empire, you really have to conclude that the man contained multitudes.

Not exactly what you'd expect from someone who has a well-known song about cheeseburgers.

So if you have one handy, pour out a Landshark for Jimmy.

There wasn't a ton to report over the last week, so we'll be returning next week with much more news (I assume). But there was one development in the state liquor law department:

• It looks like another state is headed for looser liquor laws. If the bill that just cleared the legislature becomes law, North Carolina will finally be able to offer Sunday liquor sales and have happy hours. Not allowing these seems almost unimaginable to this Wisconsin resident.