CHARLOTTE, N.C. – August 14, 2024 –In this edition of 4×4, Robert Russo, CEO had the pleasure of speaking with Jim Birch, Chief Operating Officer of Olde Mecklenburg Brewery. With nearly a decade of experience in the craft brewery industry, Jim has been instrumental in driving OMB’s retail expansion strategy in the Charlotte market.

Robert and Jim sat in OMB’s biergarten at their newest venue in the Ballantyne Bowl where they enjoyed Captain Jack Pilsner and discussed expansion, overcoming challenges, and strategies for distinguishing oneself in a competitive niche market.

Watch the full interview above or continue reading for Jim’s insights.

Question # 1

R: What prompted you to expand your locations and concepts beyond your flagship brewery?

J: The decision to open the OMB Ballantyne location that we’re at here was something that our owner came up with years ago as he was seeing how Charlotte was developing as a city and with a vision as far as making sure we’re relevant in each one of the neighborhoods. If you think about our headquarters and our production breweries, they’re kind of in the middle of Charlotte in LoSo. We wanted to figure out how to enter each one of the neighborhoods. Ballantyne, if you’re looking at Charlotte around 6 o’clock, is a huge market for us.

Mount Holly and the Cornelius neighborhood are going to be our third and our fourth locations respectively. The Ballantyne location is the first not connected with our production brewery, and I’m really excited about it.

R: Let me ask you as a follow up to that. For the other locations, do you have approximate dates?

J: The Mount Holly location will actually start construction in December of this year, and our plan is to open in December 2025. Cornelius will probably be about 1 year to 18 months behind that because it’s somewhat interconnected with a massive development that’s going on and we’ll be right in the middle of it.

R: Selfishly I’m glad you picked Ballantyne since I live in this area so thank you.

J: Ballantyne’s exciting and there’s so much going on here with the addition of OMB, The Bowl, and the amphitheater. These will be a major draw for South Charlotte.

Question #2

R: What challenges did you face during your expansion process and how did you overcome them?

J: Sure. It’s really been over a 3-year plan from the moment that we signed and from opening about two weeks ago. I’d say normal construction challenges we’ve encountered along the way. It’s a big outdoor biergarten and we had a fairly wet Spring so trying to get some of the work done out here was difficult but it dried up finally and we finished most of the outside area in a matter of about 3 or 4 weeks.

Aside from that, coming out of COVID, there were long lead time items that initially had us pretty worried and wound up being a lot better than expected. Also, if you look inside or on the outside of the building, there’s a lot of custom decorative metalwork and woodwork. The tables, for instance, came from Germany and all of the biergarten furniture is from Germany so there were long lead times and coordination that we had to deal with throughout the project.

Question #3

R: How do you stay competitive in the craft beer industry and set yourself apart to ensure a growing customer base?

J: In Charlotte, it helps that the city is growing so quickly so naturally there’s more interest and there’s more people. Craft beer has changed dramatically in the 15 years since OMB opened. We’re now the oldest operating brewery in Charlotte and there’re close to 10,0000 breweries in the country. We have two businesses – we have a wholesale business and we have a retail business, and we want the two to be mutually beneficial. Introducing people to the brand, the Brauhaus experience, and the biergarten, we hope leads to a subsequent purchase in the grocery store and at the bars throughout North Carolina and South Carolina where we distribute it.

Having the location here in Ballantyne, Mount Holly, and Cornelius, we hope that everyone in Charlotte will be within a 15-20 minute drive max.

Question #4

R: How do you envision the future of the craft beer industry, and how are you preparing for it?

J: The craft beer industry is evolving and it has hit a slight inflection point recently from massive growth to kind of stable. There’re still breweries that are opening at a quicker pace than breweries closing. It seems to us that there’s always going to be the very relevant local craft breweries throughout Charlotte and people I think are feverishly loyal to us including myself living in the neighborhood I live in.

I think that there will also be an opportunity for a smaller handful of breweries to break out and it’s happening already in Charlotte and other big regional cities. I also think that craft breweries, especially in North Carolina, have better tools than some other areas. We’re able to sell wine and liquor which is an advantage but at the same time, there’re also limitations because craft beer still only accounts for a very small fraction of total beer consumption. The vast majority are still international companies, beer brewed outside of North Carolina. One of the most important things we say, along with all of the craft breweries in North Carolina, is that when you buy beer here, you’re actually buying local and you’re contributing to the people we pay to make our beer and the distributors that distribute the beer so it keeps the money in the state and local economy.

Bonus Question

R: At Independent Advisor Alliance, we have core values that we lead with. What are OMB’s core values?

J: We actually have six core values as well and they are a huge part of what we do. Our management team talks about it on a weekly basis and quarterly too when we get together for our offsites. The most important core value, at least for me and right now, is the dedication to quality and taking no shortcuts. When a customer comes in here, the most important thing we can do is to provide an enjoyable environment and serve great beer. That’s what we strive to do every day.

R & J: Cheers!

About Olde Mecklenburg Brewery

At OMB, our unwavering commitment to fresh, pure, premium-quality beer isn’t just a slogan. It’s an integral part of who we are. We strictly follow the world’s oldest beer purity law, the renowned German “Reinheitsgebot,” which states that beer should only contain four ingredients: water, malt, hops, and yeast. Our brewing practice never compromises on quality, forgoing cheap ingredients, artificial flavors, and added colors. If you want to brew world-class beer, you’ve got to use the best ingredients and sweat the details. We never let cost or speed get in the way of excellence. Our mission is to bring the Carolinas the freshest beer possible. We may be perfectionists, but when you taste our beer, we think you’ll agree that it’s totally worth it. Prost!

Check out more of our 4×4 Interviews here.