Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, February 2, 1992 TAG: 9201310046
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SANDRA BROWN KELLY BUSINESS WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
STAYING ON TAP
IT'S spitting snow on a Friday afternoon, but inside Goodpasture's Sports Grill it's as cozy as your family room at home.The scene is a backdrop for a "here's to old friends" tune. Five or six customers - some in business suits - chat, page through a newspaper or eye the television tuned to a sporting event.
A new arrival. A "Hi Bill" is returned with a "Hi Wayne."
Wayne is Wayne Goodpasture, 44, who owns the place not far from downtown Roanoke, on Williamson Road. Bill is a former William Fleming High School classmate from the '60s.
Goodpasture's depends upon longtime friendships, and people who share a love of sports and a taste for beer.
"It took me 25 years to learn I could drink beer and make a living," said Goodpasture, an ex-salesman who opened the bar in May 1990.
But what is Goodpasture sipping. An O'Doul's. A non-alcoholic beer with an alcohol content akin to fruit juice.
"I like to clean my system out," Goodpasture said. Twice a year, he quits drinking alcohol for a month.
Old classmate Bill has quit drinking real beer altogether. He's a regular O'Doul man these days.
Sales of non-alcoholic beers are increasing dramatically - in 1991 O'Doul sales were up 98.9 percent over 1990, according to Bova Distributing Co. in the Roanoke Valley.
But, the figures don't mean much, said Bova president Philip Short, because non-alcoholic beer represents such a tiny segment of total beer sales. At Bova, it's 0.4 percent.
The increase in non-alcoholic sales does confirm that baby boomer good ol' boys and ol' girls - now 45 percent of the drinkers - are getting older. We generally don't drink as much as we age. Most non-alcoholic beer drinkers are thought to be older.
"It doesn't mean that things are bleak for the industry. We have to market more carefully to older consumers," said Mike Marranzino with Adolph Coors Co. in Denver.
Overall beer consumption isn't declining, Marranzino said. For every age group, per capita consumption of beer is flat or increasing.
The beer industry is mellowing out.
It can expect "static to very slight growth, half of a percentage point over the next couple of years," said Marranzino, Coors vice president for international and new product development.
Demographics, health concerns, a new awareness of the dangers of drunken driving and even the economy are redefining the world of perennial youth and touchdowns.
Sales were down in 1991, by 2 percent to 3 percent, but Marranzino termed about half of the dip "artificial." Retailers loaded up on supplies in December 1990 to avoid a January 1991 increase in federal excise tax. That meant December sales were above normal and January 1991 sales were off.
"The war in the Middle East accounted for the rest. It was probably the first time we had ever seen a live war and it essentially took people out of night life . . . out of restaurants," said Marranzino. "We had a weak first quarter, but when the war ended demand returned to almost normal levels."
What is "normal" anymore?
Maybe just one thing, that beer drinking, whether out at a restaurant or bar or at home, is closely tied to sports events and no one expects that to change.
Here's what's changing and what's driving the changes:
Increased focus on drunken driving: Many drinkers are trading down in alcohol content, choosing beer over mixed drinks.
Job losses and a sick economy have people watching their money. Some premium beer drinkers are calling for lower-priced brands like Keystone.
"They can hold a beer an hour and a half in here. You have to put ice in it," said Robert Hughes who owns Omirr's Restaurant on Melrose Avenue Northwest.
Women have increased their consumption of beer. Manufacturers are starting to target women in their ads. This month, Michelob commercials will show women bowling and sky-diving and then enjoying a brew, rather than being ogled by guzzling guys.
There are fewer young people. The import beer market, which is driven by young drinkers, is decreasing, down to 4.5 percent from a 1987 high of 5 percent of the market.
Profit margins are getting thinner for manufacturers and distributors. There are hundreds of domestic brands of beer and each brand has fixed costs such as development and promotion.
Wayne Goodpasture came home to Roanoke and his old Williamson Road Northwest territory a couple of years ago after 25 years in the oil supply business in Louisiana.
He isn't on the road all the time anymore, but he puts in long hours: 9 in the morning until after midnight some days. He pays himself $1,000 a month; he used to make $55,000-plus a year in the oil business.
Business started to drop off last fall, Goodpasture said.
At a recent Friday lunch, he served about 10 hamburgers. "Normally on Friday, I serve 25 to 40 hamburgers," he said.
"I've got 10 to 12 customers who have lost their jobs - salesmen, truck drivers, executives," said Goodpasture. Others are on reserve status at Norfolk Southern Corp.; they're still being paid, but a fraction of their former salaries.
"If people have money, they want to hold onto it," said Goodpasture, who has cut back on the hours at his place, some nights closing as early as 10 o'clock.
He can't increase his prices, either for fear of driving customers away. The $1.40 he charges is the going rate for a beer on Williamson Road.
People are watching their spending and their drinking, agreed Carolyn Thackston. "I know I am and I work here," she said.
Thackston is day manager at Second Alarm, another Williamson Road watering hole. The main difference in it and Goodpasture's is that Second Alarm's big screen TV is tuned to soap operas in the afternoon. Soap opera watching isn't allowed at Goodpasture's.
Second Alarm's average beer price also is $1.40.
At Omirr's on Melrose, the price is $1.25. The Community Inn, a long-time beer spot in Raleigh Court Southwest, charges $1.35.
"You can only get out of an area what the area can bear," said Omirr's owner Hughes.
Hughes said his business started dropping off in 1990 and continued to decline last year.
Hughes discontinued a $3.99 luncheon buffet because it lost money. He saw liquor sales plummet as cocktail drinkers switched to beer, which is cheaper.
But the increase in beer sales didn't offset the loss on liquor, he said.
Regular customers have stuck with the beer places, but often are spending less, said Bruce Morrow, owner of Community Inn.
Morrow said a drop in business has made it a struggle for him to keep all of his employees working.
It's a different story at Malarkys Tavern & Eating Establishment on Orange Avenue. Food sales have held up, owners said, but general business has dropped.
"We've cut back," said Judy Dowell, Malarkys owner. "I had two girls; I now work one person weekdays."
"Business is not nothing like it used to be," said Dowell. "It's slow in summer anyway, so I didn't notice it dropping off. But, when it got cold weather, business didn't come back."