There is a lot of debt ceiling talk and recession talk out there but I think that when it comes to craft beer, you need to talk about the service industry. The cost of it in wage dollars as well as customer satisfaction dollars.
We are not close, despite breathless stories about robot made pizza, for automated beertenders. Sure, there are those pour your own spots around but they seem more novelty than the new normal primarily because you are still needing people to help out customers when they can’t work the system and do all the normal glass washing and keg changing.
Wage costs, especially in California are higher than elsewhere, but because craft beer is a premium cost product, the industry needs to have a customer base making money that can afford to buy a $20 4-pack. And when I say customer satisfaction dollars, I mean having engaged employees that make a taproom fun and encourages customers to come back and spend more money. That encouragement is a big part of why Trader Joe’s has cachet whereas a normal chain grocery feels like a chore.
You don’t need to splurge on a superstar employee as long as you give good value to both your employees and customers. Good NBA teams have “glue guys”. Players that do the little things and do them well. It is hard to find them as you can see when you look at teams that are not doing well. But that will be the test this year, in my humble opinion.
Peel the Label is an infrequent series with no photos or links. Just opinion.