Staff Blog
Big move for Bella Vista Beer Distributors
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| Photo | Drew Lazor |
Do you believe in good omens?
The Fetfatzes family's Bella Vista Beer Distributors is currently moving across the street, from their 8,000-square-foot store at 738 S. 11th to a 38,000-square-foot space at 755 S. 11th. One of the first things a demo crew did was strip the walls down to the brick to prime them for fresh paint. On the northern end of the space, they uncovered a pre-Prohibition-Era mural for Louis Bergdoll and Sons Brewing Co. ("Philadelphia's Best Beer") which, according to UPenn's Balch Institute for Ethnic Studies, was founded here in 1849.
BVBD's soon-to-be-home was most recently Vilotti and Pisanelli Bakery; prior to this, it was a roller rink and a boxing ring, which may explain the long-hidden advertisement.
Coincidence? Chris Fetfatzes, whose father, Mario, founded BVBD in 1984, doesn't think so. "The stars are aligned," he says.
Find out what they have in store for us after the jump.
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| Photo | Drew Lazor |
- Bella Vista currently carries around 600 varieties of beer. At the new "supermarket-style" space, they'll offer closer to 1200 — if it's available in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, they'll have it, says Fetfatzes, who runs BVBD with brother Jordan. Lots of local brews, of course, but that doesn't mean they're skimping on variety — their selection will span "macro, micro, continents and city-states." The old bakery has two floors connected by a ramp — bottom will be retail, while the top will be used for hauling and sorting shipments, wholesale business, etc.
- Selection will jump in terms of cold options, too — they'll have a gravity-fed refrigerator unit with 24 separate doors, each capable of accommodating up to 12 cases, A huge variety of sixtels (5-gallon kegs for kegerators), as well. They'll also be able to handle more home deliveries (BVBD will drop off orders as small as a single case to your door).
- The new BVBD will also carry glassware, cigars, novelties (ask us about our beer pong balls!), brewing magazines and other beer-related/beer-complementing products. George Hummel of Home Sweet Homebrew (2008 Sansom St.) has put together DIY beer kits to take home.
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| Photo | Drew Lazor |
- Fetfazes also pointed out a windowed space on the 11th Street side that he calls "a unique section" that'll "embody what the pinnacle of beer should be." He was very tight-lipped about what exactly that meant. It's one of those wait and see situations.
- Fetfatzes also stresses that the new BVBD, up for a late September or early October grand opening, will be a place of education, where customers can come in and pick the brains of staffers to learn about varieties of beer, origins, pairing and everything else. "It's going to be a beer geek's paradise," he says. "But it's not just for the geeks — it's for everyone."
[...] Big move for Bella Vista Beer Distributors [The Clog] geopress_addEvent(window,”load”, function() { geopress_makemap(51591,”Bella Vista Beer Distributors”,39.940702,-75.160735,”google”,Mapstraction.ROAD, { pan: true, zoom: ’small’, overview: false, scale: false, map_type: false },15) }); [...]
[...] Big move for Bella Vista Beer Distributors :: The Clog :: Blog Archive :: Philadelphia City Paper ::…. [...]
[...] Tuesday, September 16th, 2008 at 10:20 pm posted by Drew Lazor “Philadelphia’s Best Beer” (more here)Photo | Drew LazorWe first told you about Bella Vista Beer Distributors’ huge move to a [...]
[...] 11th St.) looked like in early August. (We’ve got all the details on their across-the-street move here and here.) Follow the jump for a little peek inside. The 38,000-square-foot distributor will [...]
we wish you the best about the new oppening,and this is a wish from all family.you know we love you.
i wish that now with so many beers you’ll have a good proposion about which beer is the best,i prefer a bitter one,thank you!!!!.
good sales our cousins!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!