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The site of the future Old Town Beer Exchange on 310 Holmes Ave. in Huntsville. (Contributed by Matt Fowler)

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama - Two real estate professionals, a master brewer and a lawyer are coming together to launch a neighborhood craft beer and wine store in the heart of downtown Huntsville.

Old Town Beer Exchange will operate on the ground floor of 310 Holmes Ave. in Huntsville. (Lucy Berry | lberry@al.com)

Solid Earth Chief Executive Officer and President Matt Fowler, his brother, Bill, former Olde Towne Brewing Co. owner Don Alan Hankins and attorney Derek Simpson are the guys behind Old Town Beer Exchange, a 1,300-square-foot store across the street from the old Times building and Below the Radar.

Set to open early next year on the bottom floor of a condo building on 301 Holmes Ave., Fowler said the store will be similar to Madison's Wish You Were Beer and modeled after beer exchange concepts in Charleston, S.C., and Greenville, N.C.

"We're going to be the 'beer people,'" he said. "So it's not just a grocery store type of experience, or a liquor mart kind of experience. It will be more of a boutique kind of experience, so if you really are interested in the art and the craft of beer, this will be a destination."

Craft beer growth

U.S. craft beer production is expected to grow 16.8 percent by the end of 2014 and have the "most aggressive revenue" jump of any alcoholic beverage, according to research firm IBISWorld. Last year, the number of Alabama breweries doubled and the number of planned breweries increased from seven to 12.

The Alabama Brewers Guild said the number of taxable removal barrels (the amount of beer sold and taxed) was 28,373 in 2013, up 47 percent from 19,301 in 2012.

The investors behind Old Town Beer Exchange have had the idea for a craft beer and wine store for a couple of years, but finding the right location in Huntsville proved somewhat challenging. Although they looked at spots on Memorial Parkway and were excited about the Stone Middle School redevelopment project, Fowler said the immediate downtown area kept drawing them back.

"We loved the idea of being a part of revitalizing west Huntsville, but downtown and particularly inside the entertainment district was where we wanted to go," he said.

Quigley Arts & Entertainment District

Licenses are still pending, but the lease has been signed and Downtown Huntsville, Inc. is helping the small business owners apply to be added to the city's Quigley Arts & Entertainment District. Fowler said the 90-day build-out will include new utilities, lighting, a polished concrete floor and other simple renovations.

Old Town Beer Exchange will operate on the ground floor of 310 Holmes Ave. in Huntsville. (Lucy Berry | lberry@al.com)

Old Town Beer Exchange will offer a variety of local, domestic and international craft beer, as well as higher-end, harder-to-find wines customers typically wouldn't see at a grocery store. While the cost of craft beer will vary, Fowler said most bottles of wine will exist in the $25-$40 price range.

The business won't be a traditional bar, but will likely have some small, cafe-style tables similar to what Belle Chevre had at the Clinton Row Project in downtown Huntsville. Customers will also have an opportunity to try samples before they buy.

"If you come to Below the Radar and you find a great craft beer, you can go right across the street to us and get it to take it home," Fowler said.

Capitalizing on growing beer scene

Fowler said the building where Old Town Beer Exchange will operate was a former salon that was purchased Huntsville attorney Jim Richardson, who eventually opened a law office in part of the space and left the rest of it open for future retail use.

Chad Emerson, chief executive officer of Downtown Huntsville, Inc., predicts the store will be successful for walkers, bikers, as well as those who travel mainly by vehicle.

"We're super excited that an innovative, locally-owned business is growing in downtown and capitalizing on the very popular craft beer scene here in Huntsville," he said. " ... There has been a lot of discussion about this over the last several months and everyone has really hoped this would come to fruition."

Hankins, who Fowler said trained to become a brewmaster in England, was the force behind Olde Towne Brewing Co., which was Huntsville's first microbrewery since before World War I. The brewery suffered a fire in 2007 and later ceased operations after Straight to Ale took over the business in 2011.

Future expansion

If Old Town Beer Exchange does well, Fowler said he and his business partners are looking to possibly expand the store to another city in Tennessee. They also like the Cullman and Florence areas.

"We're already dreaming," he said. "We've got some really good friends in the Nashville area who love the concept and have been in the restaurant business up there for a long time. We've got our eye on a spot, and are just kind of playing around with it. It's been on the market for a while so we don't feel super rushed."

Fowler opened Solid Earth in downtown Huntsville in 1998. With developments like Belk Hudson Lofts, Twickenham Square, Constellation and now the Big Spring Square project, Fowler said there will eventually "be a critical mass in downtown and a new community ecosystem will have been created."

The launch of Old Town Beer Exchange will hopefully attract more young professionals and encourage commercial companies to consider expanding to the center city, he said.

"We've all started multiple businesses, so we have a good business plan," Fowler said. "We don't anticipate this to be a big money maker off the bat. It's a really small place, but we're going to focus on our people and everything will follow after that."