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Roslindale could get craft-beer store to go with new restaurant in the old substation
By adamg on Wed, 03/11/2015 - 7:01pm
Roslindale Village Main Street reports a pair of Roslindale residents have signed a letter of intent to open a Craft Beer Cellar in the rehabbed trolley substation at Washington Street and Cummins Highway - the same building where Chris Douglass, owner of Tavolo and Ashmont Grill in Dorchester, plans to open a restaurant.
Bryan Reeves and Marty Alvares-Reeves have both been hobbyist brewers for some time; their purchase of a Craft Beer Cellar franchise is their first retail venture. Before they can open, they'll need to obtain a beer-and-wine license from the Boston Licensing Board.
Both their shop and the new restaurant, to be called the Third Rail, are expected to open this coming winter.
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Comments
This would be awesome!!!
This would be awesome!!! Definitely a step up from the sketchy liquor store. Now if only we could get a coffee shop....
Sketchy liquor store has
Sketchy liquor store has vastly improved it's beer selection and the owner is a good guy. Craft Beer Cellar has a great selection, but the staff and customers are a bit pretentious for my tastes. The prices are usually two dollars higher per six pack as well.
I agree about the coffee shop, outside of the ham and cheese croissant Fornax does nothing for me.
Value for your $0.33 per beer
For that extra $0.33 per beer in your $2/6-pack, you're allowed to combine ANY six beers in the store into that 6-pack. I think the extra $2 is worth being able to sample the store as part of my purchase. There aren't a lot of stores that sell nearly everything in singles.
chance liquor is not sketchy
yes it's a small place, but their beer selection is better than it was under the old owners. Current owner is a great guy (he's a knick's fan, though) - and the staff is very friendly.
Wait--you mean it's not actually called Sketchy Liquors?
because that'd be kind of a great name.
Can't wait!
Can't wait!
Very Exciting!
I like and support both Solera and Chance Liquors, and they both do a semi-decent job of providing some craft alternatives, but a place that is completely dedicated to beer, such as Street Car in JP will substantially improve our options. Can't wait!
Streetcar is not totally dedicated to beer
They were a wine shop first.
What a pack of snobs we are in Roslindale
Remember all the rage about Petco opening to 'compete' with Pet Cabaret? What a huge waste of time and community energy that was... Here's a business for strictly for the upper end of the Roslindale resident spectrum and of course it's time to roll out the red carpet.
I welcome this new place and any other business which cares to open (for a while) in Roslindale, regardless of who owns it. Long live the free market.
upper end?
I think the restaurant will do well - it's an awesome space and there aren't very many beer halls in the city - home brewer stores tend to be somewhat marginal business, though... Maybe they'll become enough of a destination to do well (the only other ones nearby are in Brookline and Cambridge). I know there are a lot of home-brewers in JP.
I didn't really care about the high-end petco. IMO - The not-so-good places are hair/nail salons and banks... even if the former are locally owned, both are usually a sign that the business district isn't healthy. Banks tend to suck the life out of business districts.
in terms of supporting business diversity what really hurts Roslindale is the public transit issue - if you're coming from points north you have to transfer to a bus at Forest Hills, which is a huge psychological barrier for a lot of people (people who live in that direction tend not to drive - and if they did, they aren't going to roslindale unless they have to). I think just running the 39 bus to the square would help a lot - and, of course, there's the whole orange line thing...
Rozzie needs to expand their customer base - and if you're relying on people who drive to the square there are too many other options nearby and not enough "convenient" parking. The only way you can draw people without better public transit is to create some kind of major destination.
Not a home brew supply store
Pretty much agree with everything that you wrote, but as I understand it, the Craft Beer Cellar is a retail merchant, specialized in offering small brewery (ie craft) selections. If they have home brewing supplies, that would be a nice additional feature, but I don't believe that's their main line of business.
Nope
None of the other Craft Beer Cellars have any home brew equipment at all (that I've ever seen unless they've added it recently). It's all beer and some beer company merchandise (branded glassware, shirts, etc.).
Snobs
I guess I can't speak to the motives of everyone who opposed Petco - maybe some of the opposition did just boil down to snobbiness - but remember that the store that's coming is an Unleashed by Petco, the company's boutique concept. That store will be selling premium products at premium prices, and will be targeting something closer to the "upper end of the Roslindale resident spectrum" than your comment implies.
I respect your position on Petco and the square in general, even if I do see the pros and cons of international chains a bit differently than you do. I just don't think it's fair to suggest that the big difference between these two situations is the customer base, as you do in your first paragraph. That difference is smaller than you are implying, and there are other differences that you are ignoring.
And it's a chain!
Yep, but my conscience is clean on that one, as I did not oppose Petco. Ironic to be sure, but to be fair, we don't really know how most of the up in arms about Petco crowd would feel about this one, as very few have commented. However, there are some discernible differences between the two circumstances, the largest being that Petco represents an outside corporate conglomerate, whereas the Beer Cellar is more representative of homegrown entrepreneurship.
This is a lazy comparison.
This is a lazy comparison. This craft beer place will be unique and not substantially competing with any other small business in the square since it has a clear niche as opposed to overall liquor stores there. It may indeed be a chain but it's a rather small one and also this appears to be a franchise that will be run by local residents, which is clearly different. Not the same as the Petco situation. You have made it clear at every turn on here that you didn't like how Petco went, which is fine. But lay off calling your neighbors snobs. Or next time get like-minded residents together, organize, and show up at the meetings to be heard. That's how it works.
It was glib
and reductive, sure but those meetings really bummed me out about living in Roslindale.
There were many people at both who were opposed to non-boutique businesses in Roslindale and against smaller, cheaper apartments. That's not being snobby? I'd bet large sums of money most of those same people would be delighted to get Family Dollar out of town as they don't shop there.
In the end of course, the meetings didn't matter and both businesses will open and the apartments are getting built (assuming structural issues don't arise) so really, enough said about all of it.
I agree
Because I don't care.
Dress it up all one wants, but this place is not that much different from Subway. As long as whoever has a storefront in Roslindale is a good neighbor, the sidewalks stay clear of snow, and they are not committing crime, let them in.
To be clear, this beer store will probably be a good thing, but what would the tone be if the liquor store felt threatened?
Well, Christ. Are all
Well, Christ. Are all resturants with sandwiches just overpriced variations on Subway by that definition?
Saving Silverman
Judith: You must be very well-educated.
J.D: [in his eagle mascot costume] I suppose.
Judith: Ivy League?
J.D: More or less.
Judith: Which one? Yale, Harvard, Princeton?
J.D: S.U.
Judith: Oh, Stanford University?
J.D: Subway University.
Same kind of franchises
The reason Subway is everywhere is that they'll just give franchises, as opposed to, say, Burger King, that makes sure existing franchises are protected. This place franchises, which is not to say they don't care about their franchisees (getting the license to sell ensures lack of saturation) or that the quality is to Subway.
In short, dress it up, but it's a chain.