Wet Ticket Brewing
For years friends had encouraged Tim Pewitt, a home brewer, to make his beer available to others. So, in 2014 he and his brother John started to research what would be involved to actually open a brewery in New Jersey. It took about two years to pull it together, location being a big piece of the puzzle. They didn’t want to be located in an industrial zone, they wanted the tasting room to be comfortable, easily accessible and part of a downtown scene. Importantly the space had to accommodate the brewery, a public tasting room plus a loading dock, a priority for the production aspect of the business plan.
Finding a location that met all of the criteria proved challenging. Tim’s brother had worked at Merck and suggested that they look into Rahway. There they found a supportive community, the mayor at the time told the brothers Rahway would be a great location for a brewery. He actively helped find the space on Main Street, and worked with the landlord, the planning board, and advocated to approve zoning to allow the brewery to locate downtown. As any business owner knows obstacles are part of the package and one of their biggest hurdles was to obtain the NJ and Federal licenses to allow them to brew and serve beer. But Tim sees obstacles as learning opportunities. Recognizing the support they experienced; they make a concerted effort to buoy neighboring businesses by hiring local services and suggesting neighborhood restaurants for customers to bring in food to enjoy while visiting the tasting room.
Tim and his business partner Al Povaski put a lot of thought into the planning of the space. The size of the tasting room, the layout of the tanks, the location of the rest rooms, the height of the bar, every detail was taken into consideration. They felt it important to integrate local art into the décor and deliberately chose not to install a television to encourage a companionable environment.
Tim primarily manages production while Al takes care of HR, scheduling tasting room staff, and maintains the mantle of official beer taster.
Making good beer is important but the staff and atmosphere make it all work. Tim encourages the beer tenders to think of the space as a home, to keep it clean, be friendly, and contribute as an integral part to the success of the business. This approach has helped retain good people which provides stability and low turnover that enhances the customer experience. To keep things operating smoothly they have two brewers and 10 bartenders. At any given time, they have up to sixteen brews including seasonals on tap. Tim likes to engage customers and get them talking about beer. He’s attentive to suggestions and might adjust a recipe if called for. Some of their most popular brews originate from customer suggestions and some specialty recipes have become mainstays because of frequent requests.
Wet Ticket has done a little radio and billboard advertising, that combined with word of mouth has helped their business grow. In addition, last year they took advantage of a grant offered by the Special Improvement District to learn how to effectively use social media. By strategically timing posts and content, they’ve seen a marked boost in business. Customers come from all over, but it is the regulars who give Wet Ticket the local vibe that makes it so welcoming.
Wet Ticket distributes their product to liquor stores and bars, thus expanding their footprint by about twenty miles, and makes it available to enjoy at home.
Tim is excited to see Rahway becoming more vibrant, noting the increase in foot traffic compared to when they first opened their doors. He attributes much of this increase due to the outreach and support offered through programs like the outdoor music series and pop up markets that increase exposure while attracting people to come and enjoy all of what Rahway has to offer.