New beer and wine retail concept to open first location in Dexter

The Beer Grotto coming to downtown Dexter will be more than a retail store. Though beer and wine sales will be its primary function, those sales will come with advice, recommendations and information from alcohol experts, along with samples and even a chance to sit down and enjoy a drink inside the store. 

 

"Our goal is that you're never going to walk out of the store with something you haven't tried," says Beer Grotto President Sam Short. "We're going to have an educated staff, a good selection and the ability to test stuff in the store before you leave."

 

East Lansing resident Short is relatively new to Michigan, but has been in the beer and restaurant business for years. After working with a number of well-known names in the industry, such as Grand Rapids' Barfly Ventures of HopCat fame, he is moving into the retail business. In what turns out to be a happy coincidence, the prime location for launching The Beer Grotto is the same village that is home to his wife's family.

 

"It was serendipity," says Short. "Dexter is great because it's very close to Ann Arbor, but yet it retains this true American small town feel. But it still has 30,000 cars driving regularly through. It's a neat little community."

 

The Beer Grotto will open in the 3,000 square foot former home of Dexter Pharmacy on Main St. In addition to retail space, the business will include a lounge area in which customers to enjoy a beverage. He anticipates work beginning on the space in Jan., and hopes to open with a staff of about 15 employees in late April or early May.

 

Short plans for the Dexter location to be the first of 15 Beer Grotto locations. He anticipates the next two will also be in the Ann Arbor area, and will open in 2014.