29/07/2023
As I am now sitting at home , reflecting after what has been yet another busy retail week in more ways than one. ( back on the tools actually- preparing for our new Laverton store coming soon) And Sunday 7 day shift still to come as we near close out the winter salami making season at our Epping outlet.
However, today also marked the rather emotional closing end for one of the family biz chapters with the closing - relocation of our original West Melbourne /City store, which will reopen in the months ahead 20min+ drive west in the suburb of Laverton North . While this was not the original city location that my parents setup in the early 1970’s still on Victoria st -opposite the Queen Vic Market ( and the trading name had changes along the way ) ……it’s still sad we couldn’t keep this store running profitably as per other epping which seems to be thriving in the northern suburbs.
While the whole Covid chapter and obsurd retail lockdowns did create ( and still on going!) less retail traffic via work from home mandates and more business closures needing the brewing and food processing products and services we offer in the CBD district . However, this was not only the obstructive factor. Of course, we could have looked at diversification of products to suit the ever changing demographic of people now living in city and surrounding suburbs. We had looked at returning to the food making and fermentation workshops….even a potential working distillery hub for business to create their own private label spirits … but the costly store rent /sqm foot print just was not possible for my investment ability. Vs the decision for a much larger retail store. 5x the size in the western suburbs. Where family homes are bigger and more buyers seeking craft making hobbies
As we see currently growing in the northern suburbs outlet over the last 18years.
Plus -the bigger laverton warehouse will allow for better operations for unloading shipping containers and despatch of our continually growing online web store sales.
So, Still much work to be done in building renovations and operational planning of the Laverton site but once sorted ( and hopefully don’t run out of cash and overdrafts in the process!! ) we hopefully will attract back and rebuild our brewing clientele to this larger retail destination super store for our DIY craft industry.
If you have and interest in crafting your own beers, spirits , salami , cured meats , cheeses and other preserved vegan treats or know someone who should explore us …..then please tag any of your friends in the comments below!
So to be clear, tell others we are just relocating just one store !! Not closing others!!
It just sucks , that the Baggio family legacy store did make it longer . Plus- Melbourne like many of the worlds great cities no longer have large crafts home brew type stores as ours , as the cities become more a place for entertainment, , tourism and consuming food , rather than creating your our food and beverage experiences at home!
If you want to know more , follow us @ theartisansbottega or
Www.artisansbottega.com.au
Time to pour another crafted whiskey we blended!
Cheers
Stefano
