Business & Tech

More Details on Craft Beer Cellar's Newton Centre Location

Wondering when Craft Beer Cellar will open in Newton Centre?

When the Craft Beer Cellar opens in Newton Centre this fall, owner Brian Shaw has his goals set on more than just selling great beer to his customers.

"We really want this place to be a destination," Shaw says, standing in the brightly colored, but now hollowed out shell of what was once a Shop 344 location. "The craft beer industry is getting huge, but there's still a lot to do."

Shaw plans to transform the space at 1243 Centre Street into a place where customers will find thousands of craft beer options (strictly craft beers and just a few affordable wine options); an enormous, 15-door cooler; some specialty food items; and a large space dedicated to classes such as Craft Beer 101.

Those educational elements fit right into Shaw's own reasons for getting into the craft beer industry; for him, it's an exploratory project in which he gets to work with a couple of founders he greatly admires.

Beer Beginnings

Shaw isn't new to running a business, but the Craft Beer Cellar will be his first brick and mortar retail establishment. He credits Craft Beer Cellar founders 
Suzanne Schalow and Kate Baker with convincing him to bring the business to Newton Centre.

About 18 months ago, Shaw says, he began consulting with Schalow and Baker to help them expand their business plan. The more time he spent with them, the more convinced he became of their business' success. 

"This is something that works," Shaw says. "It couldn't possibly make more sense. I've always loved the alcohol industry, especially beer. For me, this is a really fun exploratory project."

Shaw says that, to the best of his knowledge, the Craft Beer Cellar business is the only one in the country devoted solely to craft beer, which means the people who work for him better know their IPAs from their hefeweizen.

Everyone who works for Shaw will be at least Level 1 Cicerone certified. He explained the certification is similar to sommelier training in the wine industry.

"It's been really fun hiring," Shaw insists. "I've been really lucky in attracting fun people who really love beer and helping customers."

Just because his people are certified, don't expect to find beer snobs at Craft Beer Cellar. Instead, be ready to talk with a "Beer Geek."

"It's not fun talking to a snob because they try to argue with you and prove they know more than you," Shaw explains. "This is a collaborative thing. A Beer Geek is someone who loves beer and is really passionate about it and wants to learn more and would go out of their way to drink good beer."

In addition to staffing his shop with the best people, Shaw is going out of his way to outfit Craft Beer Cellar a particular way, including using more than 20 whiskey barrels as interior decor.

He envisions people spending some quality time in the shop as they check out the selection and even build mix-and-match six packs that allow them to try a wide variety of beers.

"It opens up the opportunity for people to continue their exploratory process," Shaw explains. "It's really important for us to allow the customer to do that.

"It's for the beer."

Shaw hopes to open Craft Beer Cellar in Newton Centre in early to mid-October. For more about Shaw and his particular tastes in beer, check out Patch's Q&A.


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