Trevor Rotoli and his wife, Tessa, doubled down by tripling up in expanding their Carson City business, Just Brew It.
“We were ready to expand,” said Rotoli. He said nearly tripling Just Brew It’s square footage by moving from 1210 N. Carson St. into nearby space at 1214 N. Carson enhanced his business, stepping up already-solid customer traffic and sales.
He said the new spot in 2,800 square feet can be seen better from Carson’s main drag, and he also has an upgraded liquor license that allows customers to have a brew while contemplating paraphernalia, ingredients and recipes for making beer, wine or sodas at home. Some new customers have come in and told him they just noticed where Just Brew It was in the new digs, Rotoli said.
“We were tucked away,” he said, pointing out the old location in the same commercial building complex on the west side of Carson Street, about three blocks north of Adele’s. His old space just didn’t cut it anymore, he said, so the business made the change in October and obtained expanded liquor license authority from city government this month.
“It was just packed,” he said of the 1,000 square feet he used to rent. “We ran out of room.”
There are no plans to put in an actual bar, Rotoli said, because the decision to sell beer for consumption on the premises is more of a convenience for customers than any bid to change the character of his business. It will remain mainly a place to purchase the items needed to make one’s own beer, root beer, soda and wine. Enjoying a brew while shopping for brew ingredients or equipment makes sense.
“It’s not really going to make us a lot of money,” he said, speaking of one beer sale at a time. But he indicated it is a tradition and may help swell the number of potential customers coming in the door for brewing supplies, which could spur overall sales.
Rotoli made his comments while minding his son, Levino, as well as his store one recent afternoon. He said the business is an outgrowth of what he began dabbling in due to personal interest.
“It was just a hobby for a long time,” he said. “I saved up a bunch of money” to open the business during difficult economic times in which some other businesses were closing. Now he looks toward a few more additions, such as bulk grain bins as the kitchen gets finished, and the addition of kegerators so he can sell individual beers on tap as well as by the bottle.
He said the firm’s success emanates from a growing customer base due to heightened interest among residents of Carson City and surrounding communities.
“It’s really popular these days,” he said, noting people enjoy the process of making their own beer and have good financial reasons as well. That’s because it’s cheaper to make one’s own brews than to buy them, he said, “if you like the specialty beers.”