March 14, 2017

Meet Camric Shultz of My Friend’s Growler Shop in East Atlanta

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Camric Shultz.

Camric, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I met my business partner, Hunter Kent, in college long before we ever considered opening a business together. Early in our friendship I showed up to his house to have a few beers with friends and he offered me one with no label and a gold cap. Apparently he could see the confusion on my face because he quickly went on to inform me it was a beer he had made. I was intrigued and happily popped the top of and poured it into a glass. To my surprise it was an excellent beer. I spent the rest of the evening picking his brain on brewing, his experiences, the process, everything I could think of. That night opened my world to a whole new world of beer I didn’t even know existed. Shortly after that I bought my first home brew kit and started brewing myself. From that point on we were constantly trying to track down new craft beers. We both attended Valdosta State University so tracking down new beers there was a challenge. But one we enjoyed.

We both graduated with business degrees in 2010 and moved back to the Atlanta area. We had no idea what we were stepping into. The beer scene was really starting taking off then and we were almost overwhelmed with new options. We spent the next few years working other jobs and traveling the world. A lot of that time was spent in Colorado where we were first introduced to growlers. After returning from a trip to Fort Collins Hunter read an article talking about the re-legalization of growlers in Georgia. We began exploring business opportunities that this would open, wrote a business plan, and after a couple years of hard work finally opened our doors here at MFGS. The rest is history!

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has been anything but a smooth road. We originally looked for a location in this area and were told it would be impossible to open in the City of Atlanta. We were disappointed to hear that and began to explore other options. After searching the rest of the Atlanta area for a location that provided everything we love about East Atlanta we realized that wasn’t going to happen. We decided to really dig-in and do anything we could to make this location work. With the support of the community, a lot of hard work, and a year and half spent towards one goal, opening our doors, we finally were able to move forward.

We both say to this day that the time and money spent to make sure we could be a part of a community rather than a business existing in a community was time and money well spent.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about My Friend’s Growler Shop – what should we know?
At MFGS we have 40 taps that made up of 1 soda, 1 kombucha, 2 ciders, and the rest are all craft beers. Those offerings rotate out regularly. We put anywhere from 10-20 kegs on a week. Each of those offerings are available for growler fills. A growler is a container that can be filled with draft beer, sealed, and then consumed at a later date and time. We keep a rotating selection of 250+ beers in both bottles and cans. Since opening in 2014 we have added a selection of 80+ specialty wines to our store as well.

We put a huge emphasis on supporting local here. At least 2/3 of our taps are always pouring local offerings and that same importance reflects in our bottle and can selection. We specialize in craft beer but are quickly growing our wine-selection and following as well. It’s hard to pick one thing we are most proud of so here are a few:

-Our selection, it’s constantly rotating and because of our support of local breweries they support us back with access to their most limited releases.
-The experience, we always want to live up to our name, “My Friend’s Growler Shop”. When you walk in, no matter who is behind our bar that day, you feel like you’re walking into your friend’s place. Whether it’s your first or 1000th time you’re greeting with a smile and genuine interest in finding you the best match for your pallet that day.
-Our community, we love this part of Atlanta and are extremely proud to be a part of it.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Product knowledge. Our commitment to quality service as well as quality products. Our selection, you can walk in on any given day and we’re guaranteed to have something that fits exactly what you’re looking for.

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