Beer & Gear prepares to pack it up

Local business owner out as lease expires at WNC Outdoor Collective

Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
September 25, 2021

Beer & Gear, a courtyard tap room in the WNC Outdoor Collective, will move out of the space, Oct. 1, as its six-month lease expires. Photo by Fred McCormick

When the WNC Outdoor Collective opened its doors to the public in April, Randy Giles was celebrating the launch of his second Black Mountain business, and optimistic about its future in the unique location.

Nearly six months later, as Beer & Gear approaches the end of its lease agreement, the courtyard tap room founded and operated by the owner of BAD Craft is entering its final week.

Giles found immediate success with his new business, which features rotating taps of local craft beer in an outdoor venue that has hosted a variety of live musical performances since it opened in the spring. Two months in, however, he was approached by WNC Outdoor Collective founder, Lincoln Walters, about a potential change in plans.

“He came to me in June and told me he was thinking about bringing the bar in-house and operating it under the Collective,” Giles said. “A month later, just halfway into the lease, he made it official.”

The decision to not renew the lease for Beer & Gear was one Walters didn’t take lightly, he said. 

“We asked Randy to open Beer & Gear here for a reason,” Walters said. “When we chose to go with a third party for that space, he was the guy. So, it makes it hard to tell him we’re going in a different direction as we realize new things.” 

While the Collective leases the building, Walters invested significantly in the build-out of the experiential retail business, specifically the courtyard and bar area. 

“Our vision was for the courtyard to become a gathering place for outdoor makers, retailers and enthusiasts, and with that comes this experience that people have when they visit,” he said. “The courtyard is a huge part of that. In fact, the experience people have there is almost as important as the retail itself.” 

While Walters believes absorbing the space into the Collective would better align the courtyard and bar with the overarching mission of the business, Giles, who hired three employees to staff Beer & Gear and brought on additional support for an increasingly busy BAD Craft, was baffled by the move. 

“For me, it was particularly confusing because Lincoln had initially approached me about starting this business in the WNC Collective well before he opened it,” he said. “I wouldn’t have put the time, energy and resources into this if I had known we’d be out in six months. As far as my employees are concerned, they were even more upset about this news than I was.”

Ideally, the culture fostered by the centrally located courtyard should reflect people who love the outdoor industry, according to Walters. The Collective will continue to operate the tap room when Beer & Gear moves out, Oct. 1, and an events coordinator will handle scheduling for the venue, which plans to host a pair of tap nights for nonprofit organizations in the coming weeks and a Bugs & Brews: Fly Tying Night for anglers. The space will also be available for private events.

“It’s not that those things can’t be done with a third party operating in there, but it wouldn’t be fair to tell that person that we needed to shut down for a private event,” Walters said. “Or, if we wanted to do a tap takeover with all of the proceeds going to a local nonprofit, which would mean bartenders wouldn’t make tip money.”

Walters launched the Collective to promote the work of local crafters and makers in the growing industry. The retail space, which currently includes around 30 members, carries a variety of outdoor products designed and manufactured by area businesses. Members collect 80% of the sales, while the Collective receives 20%. 

Walters said he remains committed to that concept. 

“If the Collective is doing its part, it’s creating a unique experiential retail space where the makers will grow, and we’re already seeing that happen,” he said. “Pisgah Bike Works, one of our original vendors, is moving into its own location, so we’re seeing success with it already. But, there is a learning curve, and some growing pains.”  

Giles and his crew will spend their final week at Beer & Gear saying farewell to the regular customers they have served over the last six months. He plans to focus, full-time, on BAD Craft.

“As a local business owner, who operates a business right around the corner, I just want the community to know that this wasn’t my decision,” he said. “We didn’t want to leave, but we weren’t left with much of a choice.”