Beverage Dynamics

Beverage Dynamics Mar-Apr 2016

Beverage Dynamics is the largest national business magazine devoted exclusively to the needs of off-premise beverage alcohol retailers, from single liquor stores to big box chains, through coverage of the latest trends in wine, beer and spirits.

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22 Beverage Dynamics • March/April 2016 www.beveragedynamics.com [ RETAIL PROFILE ] joins two established Happy Harry's stores in Fargo and two locations in Grand Forks, comprises 20,000 square feet of retail and office space. That makes it about 4,000 square feet larger than the next largest Happy Harry's. "We're always looking for opportunities to grow," Hal ex- plains, "but we like to stick to our knitting and the markets we know. Fargo is growing down there, so we decided to put a store there to plan for the growth of the city. And we were right; busi- ness is even more robust than our pro forma showed." A BARN BEHEMOTH "We spent over a year designing and planning and are very ex- cited to have our customers experience the atmosphere we've created. This is our largest store, yet has a very warm and com- fortable feel," says Harry's general manager Dustin Mitzel. "We decided to build a bigger store and figure out how to make room for all the new and coming products, to display them right, how to prepare for the future and make the people love coming into the store - grabbing a coffee and spending 45 minutes just walk- ing around." The prairie architecture barn-like format, built in homage to the region's farming traditions, is impressive in size and concept, and has routinely won praise from locals and attracted travelers. Designers bumped it up a few notches in the new store, including what appears from outside to be a large, circular, silver grain bin. "Our grain bin has attracted tremendous conversation," Hal says. "We use it for meetings and will eventually develop a policy for others to do the same, since we have gotten so many re- quests. We will also use the space for private and limited tastings." "The barn and grain bin structure honors the rural, agricul- tural heritage of our region. Customers will be amazed at the open feeling and beauty of the building," Steve Gehrtz, principal construction manager, Gehrtz Construction Services, told the local media upon opening last August. ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY That grain silo attracted a lot of attention at the grand open- ing, one attended by hundreds of visitors and shoppers, and it will be used for meetings and special events and offered on a limited basis to local institutions. Other features of the new store, which incorporates more than 11 miles of cedar and fir lining the interior walls: an electric car charging station that can accommodate two cars at the same time; a state-of-the- art growler station and wine-tasting station; a large parking lot suitable for summer trailer traffic; more than 100 trees planted after construction; and most notably, LED lighting in the store and on interior display shelves. On the floor? About $1 million in inventory at any one time. All Happy Harry's stores are architecturally similar, resembling large barns. The new location also features a grain silo used for private events. Happy Harry's recently opened its fifth location in North Dakota.

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