MADISON, Alabama – A makeshift nursery in the back corner of Wish You Were Beer symbolizes the long hours owner Damon Eubanks and his family have spent preparing to open the first craft-only beer store in north Alabama.



For the past few months, Eubanks and his wife, Laura, have juggled parenting and entrepreneurship as they've worked to get their new 2,000-square-foot beer shop up-and-running at 7407 U.S. 72 in Madison between Knuckleheads Sports Pub and The Cigar Room.

The hard work has paid off. Wish You Were Beer, the first true specialty beer store of its kind in the area, will hold a grand opening from 5 to 9 p.m. Aug. 17. The bottle shop and taproom will feature only Alabama-produced beers in conjunction with the store's Bama Beer Tour 2013 promotion.

"The feedback has been awesome so far from the public," Eubanks said. "Not a day goes by that five or six people don't pop their heads in here and want to know more about this place."

Eubanks' beer roots go back a long time, but he's been actively working in the business for about five years. He was an area sales manager for Alabev, the Birmingham Beverage Company, for 3 ½ years and a beertender for eight months at Straight to Ale in Huntsville.

Before laws were passed to lift what some considered antiquated restrictions on beer brewing in Alabama, Eubanks said the beer selection across the state was minimal, so he would sometimes travel to larger cities, such as Atlanta, to shop for craft beer and microbrews.

He hopes his new craft-beer store will become a destination point for out-of-town and out-of-state beer lovers in the years to come.

"I wanted a store that was a niche, that focused on craft beer and focused on education," Eubanks said. "In particular, I wanted a store that when they came here, it's an experience for them and not just running an errand. I didn't want it to be a grab it and dash kind of place."

Wish You Were Beer, which has a yellow, brown and black color scheme, sells four- and six-pack beer options, home brewing equipment, growlers and other merchandise.

"My wife's vision for the store was for it to be somewhat industrial looking with a lot of wood and a lot of metal," he said. "So we came up with the idea of a nice wood-grain oak top bar."

Corrugated tin along and behind the bar is another element designed to make the space feel more industrial.

Dan Roberts, executive director of the Alabama Brewers Guild, said he thinks there's room in the market for more craft-beer stores like Wish You Were Beer.

"Hopefully, (Wish You Were Beer) will be the first of many more to come," he said Friday.

The grand opening celebration will include entertainment from acoustic blues guitarist Mike Slaten, door prizes and food from On-On Tacos. Eubanks expects up to 150 people could take part in the event.

This month, San Diego-based Stone Brewing Co. will begin offering its craft beer in bars, stores and restaurants in Alabama for the first time through its wholesaler International Wines & Craft Beer. Wish You Were Beer will be among several Alabama venues that will take part in Stone Brewing Co.'s release festivities over the next two months.

For a complete schedule of Stone Week Alabama release events, visit the brewery's website.

Eubanks will hold a Lagunitas Brewing Company release party at 5 p.m. Aug. 19 and a Victory Brewing party at 5 p.m. Aug. 21 at the new store.

Send Lucy Berry an email at lberry@al.com.