71 City Road, Saint John, New Brunswick (Land, Building & Business)
Well established “Ferment on Premises” retail business with fully refurbished building and real estate in a prime location
Barley Malt & Vine Co. Ltd offers a distinctive opportunity to acquire an operating business, its goodwill and inventory including the “brick-and-mortar” real estate in a prime location. With an established customer base and opportunities to build on existing operations, this could be an appealing venture for an entrepreneur ready to take the next step into business ownership.
One acquisition. An established independent business. Real estate ownership.
PACKAGE PRICE: $997,500
BUILDING DETAILS
- PID 55202964
- Building Area: 3,000 SF
- Land Area: 0.38 acres
- Zoning: Corridor Commercial
- Steel cladding in the back and decorative concrete siding on the front and sides
- Complete customer centric renovation in 2010 with on-going professional maintenance thereafter
- Code compliant wheelchair accessible inside & out
- Roof: Insulated membrane roof
- Environmental assessment on file
- High traffic, easily accessible location
BUSINESS DETAILS
Since 1993, Barley Malt & Vine Co. Ltd. has grown from a small DIY homebrewing supply store into the most trusted and welcoming destination in Saint John specializing in wine, beer or cider kits, distilling & kegging supplies… whether you’re crafting it yourself or letting them do the work for you.
Barley Malt & Vine became the industry leader by being an early adopter of innovative ideas & processes. The 71 City Road location features New Brunswick’s largest retail & ferment-on-premises space. The retail space is welcoming, spacious & airy with a raised ceiling & south facing windows. Custom oak cabinetry is featured in the sales counter as well as custom made arched doors for the production & warehouse areas. Large in-stock inventory provides customers with instant access to favourites as well as other limited release and seasonal offerings plus the ability to order non-stock & hard to find items.
Barley Malt & Vine has a competitive edge over other retailers with exclusive rights for certain products & lines. These premium products are first tier & generate the greatest customer interest & praise. Their wine kits are produced by Peller Estates, a globally owned wine conglomerate with their beer & cider kits coming from various global suppliers. Winexpert is known as the undisputed leader in home wine making kits.
The Barley Malt & Vine advantage is deep knowledge of the industry, its past & future, combined with innovative solutions to enrich the customer experience. Customers praise staff members for their friendliness & knowledge. The in-house loyalty program accrues points on every kit purchase redeemable at the customers choosing. Three customer bottling stations exemplify customer commitment with plenty of room (wheelchair accessible), high-quality bottle filling machines, dedicated sinks & bottle washers, bright lighting & cheerful decor. One of the three stations is specific to beer & cider kits which have different setup needs. No other competitor provides this level of service.
The production area comprises almost 1,200 SF with a capacity of approximately eight hundred 23 litre carboys. Production equipment is scaled to produce a high output as opposed to consumer level capacities. All production & customer bottling equipment has redundancies to prevent downtime.
Their recent adaptation which has been very well received is the “Six bottle Batch” for select wine kits. Although each kit makes 30 bottles, customers are able to commit to just buy 6 instead. This appeals to customers on a variety of levels. The cost per bottle matches the cost per bottle of a full kit so there’s no penalty; a customer could build a mini wine cellar of 5 different wines for the price of 30 bottles of a single variety. No other retailer offers this option.
In keeping with latest industry trends, Barley Malt & Vine has diversified into offering zero alcohol products such as ELIX and other ready made artisanal beverages such as Tree of Life Kombucha and Wise Ass Ginger Beer, all locally produced.
The Barley Malt & Vine website provides for online purchases (local pickup only) via WooCommerce. Customers are also able to schedule their own bottling times through Winescheduler, a production program which keeps tight control of the processes for each wine, beer or cider. Inventory is managed through the ACE 3000 retail point of sale system.
INDUSTRY
Barley Malt & Vine has an impressive 29 years of continuous growth in its 33 years. The industry has morphed from the apple/blueberry/grape overly processed canned wine kits your Uncle made to globally sourced varietal wine juices and concentrates direct from the vineyard. The price per bottle has always attracted consumers but the quality of the finished product is outstanding which brings customers back for more. With exclusive rights to the top lines in every category, Barley Malt & Vine customers have a plethora of choices as soon as they step in the door.
Back in 1993, ferment on premises were not permitted but by 2003 things were changing. Barley Malt & Vine led the change in Saint John with the first ferment-on premises customer facilities. Within a few years the in-store brewing option had captured a large share of customer transactions & in 2009, 71 City Road was purchased to take Barley Malt & Vine to the next level. The building was gutted & fully renovated for ferment-on-premises production.
Much has been written & opined about the generational divide & declining alcohol sales. It may be true that alcohol consumption is down in some sectors, but people who do enjoy wine, beer & cider at far lower prices than store bought still exist & they are loyal regular customers. The key factor that has enabled Barley Malt & Vine to thrive has always been customer engagement. Whether it’s the emailed newsletters or the rotation of sales & specials to the welcome of the retail space itself, the customer experience is paramount. Through innovative on-line and social media marketing, the opportunity is there to grow the client base by appealing to new untapped demographics.
The Saint John ferment-on-premises market is by no means saturated; there are only two additional retailers in the Saint John region. None have developed the online infrastructure or in-house technology that Barley Malt & Vine has.
With a loyal client base and opportunities to grow, this could be a great opportunity for an entrepreneur ready to take the next step into business and real estate ownership.
Excited to learn more? Contact us for additional information and details on this unique offering.
Non-Disclosure Agreement required to receive Confidential Information Memorandum
