He doesn’t pull punches when talking about entering the burgeoning North Carolina micro-distillery scene. If you’re risk averse, don't do it, he says. If you aren’t a little bit crazy, don’t do it, he says.
“It’s not very logical”, he says. Unless you love long hours, cutting through red tape, crafting new liquors out of thin air, elbow grease and sweat, and then betting “close to a million dollars” that the business can make it, don’t do it.
In NC, a state historically unfriendly to the spirits industry, Huntington explained that he sees distilling as a business borne of passion, not of practicality.
Huntington is in a unique position to comment on the explosion of micro-distilleries in the state. He was around during the meteoric rise in the popularity of the micro-brew, and played an important part in NC brewing. Tyler’s Taproom in Carrboro was the first bar in NC to be stocked exclusively with craft beers. He knows what an industry bubble looks like, but he’s willing to gamble with Two Doors.
The company is about six months out from opening its doors, but they've been working this out for years. Huntington already has a clearly defined go to market strategy from day one to year five.
He’s worked in the hostile boom-and-bust booze industry before. Working with head distiller Sean Stark, Huntington plans to hit the ground running with high quality, reasonable priced un-aged spirits, and already has a dedicated sales and distribution lead working on getting his product on sales out of state, a tactic uncommon in an industry that typically tends to focus on growing local support as the first goal.
“What you’re doing when you're opening a distillery is opening a marketing company that makes spirits,” says Huntington.
One thing Huntington reflexively repeated over and over is that you can have the best food or drink in the world but without a solid distribution plan, you’re likely to fail.
“There’s a lot of amazing chefs out there that can’t run a restaurant”, he remarked.
Huntington has seen his own businesses succeed and his own businesses fail. Unlike some in the industry with a tenuous grasp on branding, from day one at Two Doors he’s recognized the importance of brand image.
While Tyler doesn’t yet have a product based on which we could rate his company, his experience and long-term company strategy hint at how he'll apply himself in this adjacent market. Huntington is the owner of two successful and popular Tyler’s Taproom restaurants in Durham and Carrboro, and brings with him multiple experienced partners and veteran distiller Stark formerly of New Holland Brewing.
Moving inventory continues to be a bone of contention in the state, where ABC stores continue to be the main point of sale for hard liquor. Distillers can only (and only as-of last October) sell one bottle of one product to one customer per year. Visit a distillery in a non-control state and you can walk away with an armful of liquor and come back next week for more. ABC stores have, according to industry members who requested to remain unnamed, expressed concern about the low volume of local product sales, and have considered taking local NC products off shelves if sales don’t increase.
Amid all this doubt and experimentation and moonshot goals, the industry is booming. North Carolina craft distilling barely existed before the mid-2000’s, and now there are more than a dozen in the greater Triangle area. If the number of distilleries popping up are any indication, craft distilling is officially a thing in North Carolina.
Yet, there are important questions we need to ask.
The first is whether demand is going to climb as high as many spirit producers hope. As much as many people love small businesses, craft spirits are ultimately artisanal and high-cost in most cases and need serious sales to scale.
The second is more complicated. Even if there’s an eager market segment looking for local spirits, will the ABC and control state system kill craft distilleries? Though distillers are allowed to sell one bottle per person per year out of their distillery, even that small concession cost years of lobbying. Can interested imbibers and lobbying organizations fight to open up rights for direct sales for distilleries?
Huntington represents a sort of hope for the industry, however. While he admits entry to distilling is an expensive bet, he’s a 25-year booze business veteran. He loves the scene, he knows it, and as much as he likes to flash his charm and say he’s only in it for the love of drink, Huntington would not gamble his existing businesses if he didn’t have a darn good reason.
He’s not the only one either. From chemists to marketers to other beverage industry veterans, there are more than a dozen in the state staking their savings and reputations opening businesses for a market segment that isn’t completely established.
The point is, while it is a shot in the dark to a degree, entrepreneurs are opening doors, investors are staking cash, and that’s nothing trivial.
Stay tuned in the coming weeks for more on the local micro-distilling scene, including profiles of the prominent distilleries in the area, video interviews with industry leaders, and business owners reflecting on the passage of direct sales legislation and their hopes for the future.
