Prost Profiles: One Stop Brew Shop owner James Hilbert

As the Greece craft beer shop celebrates its 10th anniversary, Hilbert continually curates the best selection in town

Here’s the latest edition of the Prost Profiles series, highlighting someone in the local beverage scene. If you have someone you’d like to see profiled, send an email to clevelandprost@gmail.com.

James Hilbert, now 29, started working in craft beer before he could legally drink it. (He’d even admit that he started working in beer before he actually liked it.)

And as his destination bottle shop, One Stop Brew Shop, 2512 Ridgeway Ave. in Greece, celebrates its 10th anniversary with a slew of incredible releases, Hilbert can chuckle about how he far he has come and how much the business has changed.

At first, the business was little more than a bodega. And Hilbert began working at the bottle shop as a clerk and eventually bought into the business with his brothers, Anthony and Steve. It’s clear the craft beer community appreciates the care and expertise offered at One Stop. In its jam-packed 1,100-square-foot space, One Stop features more than 1,2000 products, Hilbert estimated.

Here’s a bit more about James:

Q: Can you walk me through the history of One Stop Brew Stop and how you got involved with it?

A: We opened on Oct. 1, 2012. My business partner now, who, at the time was my boss, Carl Fantauzzo, told me he was opening this place and I was already working for him at one of his other businesses. He’s a very well-versed entrepreneur and I view him more as a mentor than a business partner. He’s taught me so much. At the time I was in college with very little direction. So I was like, sure. I had no knowledge of beer whatsoever. A few years later, he got rid of the old management and just wanted to ride out the lease and close the store. He gave my brothers and I the opportunity to do whatever we wanted with it. He said that at the end of the five-year lease, we’d clean our hands of it and we’ll be done.

Both of my brothers came on with me and we flipped the store around and made it more craft beer-centric. We focused on limited, high end, premium craft. We scoured every inventory sheet we could get our hands on. We wanted to make people interested.

Q: Your frequent trips to the Hudson Valley and New York City to pick up directly at breweries like Plan Bee, Finback, Fifth Hammer, and others really added to the allure of this place. When did you start doing those? And how has the identity of the business changed, especially in the last five years?

A: We really started branching out in 2016 when we made our first trips to Albany and the Hudson Valley. That definitely put us much more on the map. I remember for our first pickups we would work with other stores (in Albany) (with what is known as state-granted ‘C’ license, which allows licensees to act like a distributor). Albany has amazing distribution. And since we didn’t have a company vehicle, because we didn’t have any money and I was a broke college kid, I would load up my rinky dink Honda Civic with beer. It was a whole different scene and we worked our way up. We branched into New York City, linking up with breweries there through mutual connections or cold-calling. A lot of people said no at first, because they didn’t know who I was. There were a few nights I slept in my car, because I couldn’t get a hotel room. It was a whole different time. We rolled with that New York City thing for a long time. A lot of those breweries became more than just business relationships, they became friends.

Q: You recently became a distributor in this area, too. So how has that changed the business and what attracts you to the breweries you distribute (that includes places like Delaware’s Dewey Beer, Florida’s 3 Sons Brewing and Arkane Aleworks, and Pennsylvania’s Imprint Beer)?

A: We started distributing in January. That’s a very new endeavor. We’re up to five breweries now and we’re working on a few new ones. It’s definitely harder to do, but we’re basically trying to take the same store model and just ramp it up. There are definitely New York City breweries I’d love to represent at some point, some northeastern breweries, mainly the East Coast. Just shipping is crazy with some of these new companies. It can be an adventure. And if I could physically drive it (to Florida), I would.

A lot of times I meet these breweries through other breweries we work with. So it can be pretty seamless as friends introduce us to new breweries. It happens very organically. Obviously having a discerning palate is very important. When you try these brands, you’ve got to make sure they make a quality product. In Rochester, they (our customers) all have discerning palates. The average craft beer consumer now has a lot of knowledge, much more than 10 years ago when we first started. So I have to be hyper-critical on product, both on a distro and a store front. I only have so much space. Your stuff has got to be good, because the options are endless now.

Q: What are your options outside of this place, if you even have enough time for hobbies?

A: That’s a great question. I try to (have hobbies). I definitely pack in my schedule. At the end of the day when you go home and lay down your head at night and you’re absolutely exhausted, you had a good day. I still like co-ed soccer, men’s league soccer. I recently bought a house and have been fixing it up. It has been a lot of fun, but definitely hair-pulling, too. Definitely hiking. I am a big hiker. I picked up skiing last year, because I need more hobbies and things to do during my off time. I’ve really enjoyed and there have been so many business opportunities that I’ve missed that people have offered. And cooking. I actually really do love to cook.

Q: What was your gateway beer?

A: Oh, I know it. I know it like the back of my hand. It’s funny, because it’s so anti-climatic. When people ask me this, I’m like, you’re not going to love hearing my answer. It was Palm Belgian ale, in that green box with the little gold horse on it. It’s actually funny, because when I was much younger, I also told my friends I hated beer. Because all I had was Keystone Ice and stuff like that. I never loved it and then my world absolutely changed after that Palm. I got into old-school Belgian stuff — St. Bernardus, Rochefort. And it absolutely exploded from there.

Q: Any current favorites or current breweries? Or is that like asking you to pick your favorite kid.

A: Yeah, it’s almost impossible to pick. I do love the stuff Finback is putting out. To no surprise of anybody. But I definitely support that brand, because I support the product so much. I also love Plan Bee products. I am a huge fan of that farm style, grow your ingredients, all the stuff is locally sourced. Every brewery has its place.

Q: So what’s the future look like for One Stop?

A: Expanding the distro and I really want to listen to the customers. Whatever people are looking for, bring it to my attention and I will work my way to get that product for you. I am willing to do whatever it takes to get quality products here. We won’t give you as many options. But I want to come in here and know we are giving you the best options.

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