It was important for Ploughman Cider to have a front-facing tasting room, especially being a farm-based cidery in central Pennsylvania. Finding a location in a more-populated area gave the brand more eyes on them daily. But finding that location could have been troublesome had founder Ben Wenk needed to either build from the ground up or put a taproom in a building that wasn’t set up that way.
But a fortunate event happened, he told Brewer Mag. They were offered a space that was pretty much “plug and play.” The cidery’s taproom in Gettysburg is something that is high visibility and was being under-used as a lunch break space for a business with no public face or public access.
“While that was important from a low cost-of-entry standpoint, it’s still vital to really think about what kinds of experiences you’re trying to give people rather than thinking about how quickly you can greenlight the space,” Wenk said.
When it comes to aesthetics, changes are needed, Wenk said. You do need to help make the place feel like your own.
“There’s a lot of unspoken communication that you can achieve just based on the way you design and layout your space,” Wenk said. “As a cidery, we’re different right off the bat. Folks aren’t used to going to a cidery as opposed to a brewery or winery … or distillery for that matter.”
So being in an area that has a large population of folks who are used to striding up to a bar and confidently ordering a maco or something like Jack & Coke, you need to let them know the experience is not the same as a bar.
“We’re not permitted to offer much of these products nor would we want to, for starters,” Wenk said. “You have to communicate, ‘Wait… this is different..’ from the moment that folks walk in.”
For Ploughman, being a very music-forward brand, one of those different factors is playing really unique music that fits in the space and having music that a consumer has never heard in another bar in town.
“Be super intentional and super different with it,” Wenk noted, even being very specific and intentional with what’s on the walls matters.
READ MORE: Cider Corner: Discovering Gaps in Your Taproom Service
“Just different in general,” he said. “Not in ways that are uncomfortable but rather, more ‘curious.’
“Make it clear up front that you’re about to have an experience that lies outside the normal or expected and then follow up on that aesthetic.”
Bivouac Cider approached their tasting room differently, but co-founder and CEO Lara Worm said despite building their spaces from scratch if someone does look into such a move in taking over another cidery or brewery’s space, there are things to look at before jumping into the situation.
“Know your numbers, margin, foot traffic, market trends, and your own work ethic very well,” she said. “There is no ‘general’ advice in business, nor any choice on a piece of equipment that will make or break a business.
“Use common sense, and good judgment, and make sure you have enough operational budget to make some mistakes — including buying expensive equipment.”
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