On a hot summer afternoon in the back beer garden of the original M.L. Rose, decision makers from both the Eighth Avenue and Charlotte locations are drinking a lot of beers, an ounce or so at a time.
Itโs their quarterly โbeer council,โ and Tom Perry โ the chief operating officer of A.Ray Hospitality, which owns M.L. Rose, Melrose Billiards and The Sutler โ is running through a half-inch binder of marketing materials from various craft brewers, all of whom are pitching to get onto one of the 30-plus taps at each location. Perry pours another beer for the dozen or so assembled tasters, who are rating everything on a spreadsheet. What theyโre looking for is a consensus โyesโ from the group, something difficult from such a wide range of palates. At the end of it all, there are only a few new brands that make the cut.
โWe look at this through a number of lenses,โ says Austin Ray, the hospitality groupโs owner. โWe look at local first. We look at popularity and sales. And we look at taste.โ
