Interview with Fred Forsley: Owner Q: Florida is pretty far from Maine; what made you decide to open an extension of the Shipyard brand in Florida? We’ve been growing the Florida market for years. The reason we are attracted to Florida as a market is that so many Maine’rs and New Englanders vacation in Florida, live there for part of the year, or actually move to Florida full time. In the winter in Maine, our volume goes down, so having a strong market like Florida helps us to balance the off-season in Maine. MAINE’S LARGEST BREWERY Northeast. How is the Emporium different from whatShipyard runs a series of brew pubs in theQ: FLIES SOUTH FOR you have already? THE WINTER Emporium, we kept the bakery and deli concept, then added aWe developed the concept to fit around a bakery and deli businessthat had been in the space prior to us. When we opened the nano brewery and a bar to the space. Our menu is also catered to fit the presence of an onsite bakery and the general concept of the space. It is nothing like any of our other, more traditional brew pubs, other than that the Emporium has a mug club, serves traditional Maine lobster bisque and chowder and also features lobster specials on Mondays. huge readership in Florida. You started a brew pub Damn you 9/11!When we first launched our magazine, we saw a Q: in Florida a long time ago that has since closed. What makes you keep trying in this area? The Shipyard Brewport was a great opportunity for us to develop our brand at the Orlando Airport. In 1996, we reacted to an opportunity at the airport and were able to develop a brewery there as an attraction. The brewery and theme pub both did very well for 5 years. After 9/11, as the airport needed to make some changes, they opted not to renew the lease. We had a strong foothold though and were able to keep growing our brand in the area. Q: Just looking at the beer list at the Emporium, it looks like very different style beers than Shipyard has produced in the past. Is this sort of like a marketing test, or pilot brewery? Ron Raike was our brewer at the Orlando Airport, and he is our brewer now at the Shipyard Emporium’s nano brewery. This is what I would call a pilot brewery, for Ron to really demonstrate his creativity and skill at brewing. It is a bit of a playground for him to have the opportunity to brew small batches of unique brews every week. In addition, the Emporium serves a number of Shipyard Brewing Company beers and we also feature some guest taps.. Q: This is really not an easy question, but what makes the Shipyard Emporium different from other restaurants? The people are really what make it different. We are baking bread and brewing beer on the premises every day, so there’s a real, direct connection to handmade products. Customers can talk directly to the brewer and really get to know him and suggest beers and food pairings they would like to try. It’s becoming a neighborhood spot as well as an attraction for people to come to Winter Park. A highlight for people is our weekly Tuesday Tapping. Every Tuesday at 5 o’clock, Ron taps his new brew for the week. :55
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