Pros
Geeking out over beer. Building relationships with breweries and customers.
Cons
This review is about Craft Beer Stellar, the parent company of the Craft Beer Cellar franchises. There is no business listing for Craft Beer Stellar on glassdoor. Do. Not. Join. This. Franchise. Where to start? No matter how much I write here, it won't ever be complete. All problems stem from Suzanne Schalow and how she runs Craft Beer Stellar. Stellar is the company that runs the Craft Beer Cellar franchise. She will promise you the world. She'll give you the same business projections she gives every franchise regardless of your location. It's based on Belmont's sales, a store that's established and has been in business for 7 years. Belmont is one of the few successful stores. The estimated build out costs are a joke. On the low end they say you can open a store with just $35,000. $25,000 of that is the franchise fee. How the heck can you open a retail store with just $10,000? At least 3 locations have closed, that I know of. That's a 10% closure rate. Many stores are not profitable. If you're interested, call all the franchise locations and ask their owners for yourself! Save yourself! Do your own research! There are no systems. They sell you out dated piece of crap point of sale software. She'll give you an operations manual that basically tells you the basics of running a retail store. Swap out the name "Craft Beer Cellar" and this manual works for any business. There is nothing proprietary or even terribly specific to selling beer. It's got some basics on office supplies to stock up on and how many cooler doors your fridge should have. Nothing in there helps you make money. The online "system" is horrendous on a good day. Suzanne claims that Belmont has successful online sales. I've yet to find any other store in the franchise that has meaningful online sales. Most stores turned it off due to the "system" selling things that are out of stock or never even stocked in their store. Some just don't deal with it because it's so hard to use. Once you're open, the brand isn't there for you. They don't have your back. Just the opposite. You're on your own! Sometimes you ask for help and the answer you get from Suzanne, and I quote "Sorry! We were too busy running our Belmont store to help you". That's right, she's running the franchise and on the floor running the Belmont location. Guess which one takes priority? They changed their logo and identity and are forcing all stores to change all of their signage, even if they just opened. No franchisees were contacted about this to get feedback from them or their customers. They seem to be turning their back on Cicerone. The implemented a new education program that is almost the same as the Cicerone program. It has 4 levels of certification and, Beercierge. All employees and franchise owners are required to take this test now. It's not free. We have to pay for it. Suzanne promised us months ago that we'd get a syllabus and study guides so we can pass the test. Alas, she hasn't sent anything. That's how it goes. Promises never followed through on. Nothing the brand does helps raise revenue for the franchisees. They just implement things that cost the stores more money. New signage. New education. Monthly technology fees over the royalty fee. Requirement to purchase new branded merch from Belmont. So much more to say! Get ready to get yelled at, made fun of, sent inappropriate images, threatened, and/or sued. That's what happens when you question Suzanne. Oh yeah. Kate is the other co-founder. I don't hear from her anymore. Is she still involved?