The Craft Emporium offers local and hard-to-find beers, wines
A self-described beer lover and researcher, Brian Harmon has turned his passion into a new business venture in downtown Bellefontaine.
Harmon, a West Liberty resident, on Wednesday opened The Craft Emporium at 120 W. Chillicothe Ave.
Harmon hopes to fill a void for local craft beer and wine drinkers, offering a mix of Ohio-made products as well as hard-to-find beers.
“I would say about 80 percent of what I sell is going to be Ohio-made products,” said Harmon. “I want to support local. That is going to be a staple of my business. I also want to help customers who are looking for those crazy types of beers they have a hard time finding. The other 20 percent of my inventory is going to be devoted to those kind of beers.”
The Craft Emporium has been several years in the making for Harmon, beginning as sort of a pipe dream and slowly evolving into a realistic goal.
“The idea kind of took off during the pandemic,” said Harmon. “I lost my job early on during the pandemic and I started thinking about what direction I wanted to go. With the bars being closed, I spent a lot of time driving to Columbus to get the beers I like. I thought it would be nice to have a place here that people like me could go get the beer they enjoy instead of having to drive out of town to get it.”
He began to look for retail space in Bellefontaine and eventually connected with Small Nation, a group which specializes in offering renovated retail spaces in downtown Bellefontaine. Harmon’s space is the first of what will be several shops on west Chillicothe Avenue’s Rainbow Row.
The Craft Emporium joins a rapidly growing craft brew scene in Bellefontaine.
“I am extremely grateful to Brewfontaine and Roundhouse Depot Brewing for welcoming me,” said Harmon. “They have done a phenomenal job of creating a great craft beer scene in Bellefontaine and I hope to become the third tier of that.”
Among the offerings at the Emporium are beers from well known Central Ohio breweries like North High Brewing, Hoof Hearted Brewing and Jackie O’s Brewery.
Harmon also has partnered with surrounding area breweries and wineries like Dalton-Union Winery and Brewery in Marysville, Moeller Brew Barn in Maria Stein and the Winery at Versailles.
In addition to beers and wines, the Emporium also offers a selection of seltzers and ciders.
With the exception of seltzers and ciders, customers have the option of purchasing singles. This allows for “mixing and matching” to give customers a chance to try beers they are not familiar with.
“Hopefully, they try one, like it, and come back and buy more,” said Harmon.
Harmon wants to adapt his inventory to best serve his customers. If someone asks for something he doesn’t have, he will do his best to find it.
“I will have a notebook on the counter for customers to write down what they are looking for,” he said. “I want to cater to want they want. That is going to dictate what I carry in the store.”
As he watched customers fill his store on opening day, Harmon got emotional thinking about the long and arduous process of creating his own business.
“It’s really a dream come true,” he said. “There have been a lot of delays, a lot of headaches, a lot of sleepless nights, and there were moments that I wasn’t sure I would get to this point. But seeing this now, it makes all of that worth it.”
The Craft Emporium is open from noon until 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. on Saturday.
A wide selection craft beer and wine is available at The Craft Emporium, which opened Wednesday. (EXAMINER PHOTO | Matt Hammond)