The humble storefront is the featured as the Small Business Profile in Sunday’s Asheville Citizen-Times. Written by Anne-Fitten Glenn—aka “Edgy Mama,” who also writes her own blog and weeklies for the MountainXPress—the story does a fantastic job of overviewing our store. (We especially love that she managed to answer the age-old question, “What does Bruisin’ Ales mean?”) This article comes just on the heels of the Bruisin’ write-up in the AJC and another of holiday food pairings in Rapid River by local beer writer, Joe Zinich. Wow! Thanks everyone!
ASHEVILLE – Bruisin’ Ales store sells only beer, a concept some people doubted could survive here.
But the shop, stocked with 700 different beers from more than 200 breweries, is thriving. Two years after opening on Broadway Street, the award-winning shop has a loyal following of beer lovers. Owners Jason and Julie Atallah have made the store work by featuring hard-to-find brews, educating drinkers through events like tastings and dinners, and cultivating loyal customers through personal touches, like regular blog updates.
“Our whole identity is just being a beer store,” Jason Atallah said. “We found out later that we were only one of a few beer-only stores in the country.” The others the Atallahs know of are in Seattle, Portland, Ore., and Charleston, S.C.
The profit margin on wine and liquor sales is much higher than that on beer, Jason said. So most stores sell all three, or at least wine as well as beer, depending on what state liquor laws allow. Bruisin’ Ales holds a license to sell wine, but the Atallahs pride themselves on selling beer only and educating customers about what’s available.
The shop mostly sells single bottles, although six-packs are available. Options range in size and price from a single Yuengling for $1.20 to an aged Italian barley wine that costs $50 a bottle. Local and American-brewed bottles of beer rarely cost more than $10, while the European imports can range from $5-$30.
“We wanted to be the place where customers would say, ‘If anyplace has it, that place is going to have it,’” Jason said.
“We try to find the rarest of the rare,” Julie added. “Even with our craft beers, you’re not going to see all of Sam Adams’ or all of Sierra Nevada’s lines here. We mostly just stock seasonals and hard-to-find beers.”
Asheville residents Shea and Brian Ivey are frequent Bruisin’ Ales customers.
“I started reading the Bruisin’ Ales blog to keep up with Asheville beer news,” Shea Ivey said. “The first time we visited the store, we were in Asheville looking for a place to live. We didn’t find a house on that trip, but we did return to New Orleans with lots of great beer. And that started a tradition of sorts – we’ll actually be taking beer to our friends in New Orleans again this Christmas.”
Customers travel from far and wide to sample Bruisin’ Ales’ wares.
Johnson City, Tenn., resident Steve Witherspoon drives to Asheville weekly, primarily for beer shopping at Bruisin’ Ales. Tennessee still has a 6 percent alcohol cap on beer, so many craft beers aren’t available there.
“Jason, and especially Julie, really know beer. That’s the primary reason I shop there. I get personalized recommendations. They know what I like and remember what I’ve bought. They’ll even tell me, ‘I don’t think you’ll like this beer.’ Although I don’t think there’s a bad beer in the store,” Witherspoon said.
Three-liter and magnum bottles sell well during the holidays, Julie said, as do gift boxes that include mixed beers and glassware. The Atallahs will put together custom gift packs for people who come in and pick out the beers they want to include. Gift certificates are available as well.
Bruisin’ Ales’ Thursday night beer tastings, a popular happy hour option, usually happen twice a month. However, during the holiday season, they occur weekly 5-7 p.m. The Atallahs also offer monthly dinners where they work with chefs to pair beers with dishes from local restaurants.
Despite misconceptions about the business’ name, neither Julie nor Jason Atallah has a background in boxing. It’s a double entendre. Say “Bruisin’ Ales” out loud, and you’ll hear “brews and ales.”
