Well that was quick....
http://jacksonville.com/business/2015-10-20/story/world-beer-closes-jacksonville-beach
Not the least bit surprised. About a week ago I was explaining to my wife that World of Beer as a concept is done. They were somewhat early to the market with the whole craft beer craze, but now practically every good bar has a variety of craft beer on tap. Not to mention many people prefer their local brews, which are abundant in Jax.
My friends in Tampa loved WOB when it was new, (I think mid 2000's?) but have since moved on to local places that serve pretty much the same beer.
WOB would be able to stay in business if they could reduce the prices on their beers. I've often ordered something there thinking it will be $5-$6 tops, when I get the bill it turns out i've been paying $8 a piece. At Jax beach, that's going to kill your business real quick.
Quote from: CityLife on October 21, 2015, 08:57:51 AM
Not the least bit surprised. About a week ago I was explaining to my wife that World of Beer as a concept is done. They were somewhat early to the market with the whole craft beer craze, but now practically every good bar has a variety of craft beer on tap. Not to mention many people prefer their local brews, which are abundant in Jax.
My friends in Tampa loved WOB when it was new, (I think mid 2000's?) but have since moved on to local places that serve pretty much the same beer.
not sure I agree. They have been expanding rapidly around the country and are still adding stores in the Tampa Bay area. Plus they do offer local beers in pretty much every location.
Now they have retooled some by adding food (which is pretty good actually) at just about every location. From what I understand, the beach location was often pretty crowded, so not sure what happened there.
Well, dang! I liked this place. They carried local beers (that's all I ever drank there) and the food was good - their pretzels were especially tasty. Disappointing to hear they're done. Maybe the rent was too high.
Supposedly the franchisees needed to close to focus on the Tinseltown location. And supposedly there's another franchisee looking to open in the Jax beaches area.
http://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/blog/morning-edition/2015/10/heres-why-the-world-of-beer-jacksonville-beach.html
Sounds like a management issue. They may have just had too much on their hands with two stores here plus another in Tennessee. Hopefully another one opens, it was one of the better bars at the beach for my money.
Another rumor I heard is that they weren't anywhere close to meeting the food sales split of their liquor license requirement.
QuoteThe Jacksonville Beach World of Beer employed about 50 people, who were abruptly told that the bar was closing mid-shift on Saturday
I hope anyone considering working for these people in the future remembers this.
Quote from: ProjectMaximus on October 21, 2015, 10:50:57 AM
Supposedly the franchisees needed to close to focus on the Tinseltown location. And supposedly there's another franchisee looking to open in the Jax beaches area.
http://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/blog/morning-edition/2015/10/heres-why-the-world-of-beer-jacksonville-beach.html
The Tinseltown location is SRO on Thurs/Fridays. In fact the parking in and around WOB is pushing out the other establishments. The manager at Jersey Mikes on the other end has been complaining for awhile to have the landlord raise their CAM allowance if they keep taking up so much parking.
Meh, Brix is on the same block, a lotta hot air about nothing.