It's official. The city councils in Muscle Shoals, Sheffield, and Tuscumbia approved the sale of draft beer. As restaurants get ready to serve their customers, local beer distributors are getting ready for the increase in demand.
Kegs at the Budweiser Distribution Center in Muscle Shoals are stacked and ready to go. General Sales Manager Greg Matthews hopes the recent approval of draft beer sales in Muscle Shoals, Sheffield, and Tuscumbia will open up a new area for the company.
"When you get a larger territory or more accounts, you're able to sell a higher volume of liquid," explains Matthews. "That's going to be really important to us."
Even though the local governments just recently sealed the deal, for Matthews, the preparations and financial investment really began in July of 2007, when the city of Florence approved draft beer sales.
"We're hoping now that the additional volume will offset that investment," says Matthews.
Matthews says on-premise draft beer sales, in places like restaurants and lounges, only make up around four percent of the sales. The big money appears to be coming from another source.
"The most interest that we've seen so far has been from the larger package stores on the county lines and in town that want to sell kegs to their customers that may have been going to Florence to get them," says Matthews.
Now that draft beer sales are allowed, local businesses aren't wasting any time. Matthews says they've already received pre-orders that are substantially higher than expected.
"We're having to scramble a little bit to get the inventory in here, but we're glad they're doing it," says Matthews.
In Sheffield, businesses can immediately start selling keg beer. However, in Muscle Shoals and Tuscumbia, the ordinance will have to be posted or advertised before the law goes into effect.
The Colbert County Commission plans to address the sale of draft beer in the unincorporated areas of the county during a meeting on Tuesday.
Kegs at the Budweiser Distribution Center in Muscle Shoals are stacked and ready to go. General Sales Manager Greg Matthews hopes the recent approval of draft beer sales in Muscle Shoals, Sheffield, and Tuscumbia will open up a new area for the company.
"When you get a larger territory or more accounts, you're able to sell a higher volume of liquid," explains Matthews. "That's going to be really important to us."
Even though the local governments just recently sealed the deal, for Matthews, the preparations and financial investment really began in July of 2007, when the city of Florence approved draft beer sales.
"We're hoping now that the additional volume will offset that investment," says Matthews.
Matthews says on-premise draft beer sales, in places like restaurants and lounges, only make up around four percent of the sales. The big money appears to be coming from another source.
"The most interest that we've seen so far has been from the larger package stores on the county lines and in town that want to sell kegs to their customers that may have been going to Florence to get them," says Matthews.
Now that draft beer sales are allowed, local businesses aren't wasting any time. Matthews says they've already received pre-orders that are substantially higher than expected.
"We're having to scramble a little bit to get the inventory in here, but we're glad they're doing it," says Matthews.
In Sheffield, businesses can immediately start selling keg beer. However, in Muscle Shoals and Tuscumbia, the ordinance will have to be posted or advertised before the law goes into effect.
The Colbert County Commission plans to address the sale of draft beer in the unincorporated areas of the county during a meeting on Tuesday.
