5 Things To Consider When Finding a Location for a Brewery

Running a brewery can be a fantastic business. Local breweries are growing in popularity, and many people love the chance to visit with friends while sipping a hand-crafted brew. When looking for the right location for your brewery, however, not every building will be suitable, and some property owners won’t even lease their building to a brewery. Here are some things to consider when finding a location for your brewery.

1. Make Sure There are Adequate Restrooms

A brewery will have far more people in the building than other types of businesses, so make sure there are plenty of restrooms in your brewery. Otherwise, you’ll have people standing in line and a lot of unhappy customers. You’ll need to check what your town’s code requires. If the place you’re considering doesn’t have the right number of stalls, you’ll have to look elsewhere.

2. Make Sure the Utilities Are a Good Fit

You’ll need sufficient water pressure so make sure the main is wide enough to supply the flow that you need. Also, make sure there are sufficient electrical outlets for the equipment you’ll be running, including the compressed air service you’ll need.

3. Make Sure There is Sufficient Parking

Depending on the size of your building, you could be seating anywhere between 30 and 200 people, so make sure the building you’re considering has sufficient parking. You don’t want your customers parking in front of other businesses or having to hike half a mile from their car to your brewery.

4. Make Sure the Landlord Is Willing

Not every landlord wants the risk of serving alcohol on the premises and some are dead set against it. You want a landlord who’s not only willing to have you as a tenant, but is enthusiastic and wants to help, so before signing that lease, sit down with the landlord to ascertain whether this is the right building for you.

5. Make Sure the Rent Is Affordable

Make sure you understand all the details of the lease before you sign it. There could be hidden costs that you haven’t included in your budget. Before you know it, you may be in over your head, so have an attorney who specializes in commercial real estate look over the contract to make sure it’s fair for you.

Keep these things in mind when considering the right building for your brewery to ensure your business is a success.