Jul 2, 2025
When Death of the Fox Brewing Company opened eight years ago,
co-founder Chuck Garrity wanted to make sure its Clarksboro, New
Jersey-based taproom stayed busy day and night.
So to “maximize” Death of the Fox’s taproom investment and utility,
the company launched by also offering coffee service, Garrity
shared during the first edition of the Brewbound Podcast’s Learning
Lounge: Taproom Tactics series.
Offering coffee was part of a total beverage mindset that covered
an overlap between beer drinkers and coffee connoisseurs, while
adding a revenue stream in one of the strictest operating
environments for craft brewery taprooms.
“My goal was to always have an on-site coffee roastery,” Garrity
explained. “So to be able to produce and roast the coffee in the
same way that we produce fresh beer for the brewery. In the same
respect, we’re doing that with the coffee. To me it just made sense
in terms of a business model.”
Building an on-site roastery during the COVID-19 pandemic was “a
game changer” for the business due to taproom shutdowns. It’s now
become the dominant portion of the brewery’s business.
“When we first opened, beer was about 75%, 80% of our sales,” he
said. “Now, flash forward eight years later, coffee, in terms of
the total company, is about 70% of our sales. Beer is about 20% to
25%.”
Garrity added that the brewery’s beer sales are still strong, and
he’s confident that “beer’s not going anywhere.” But his philosophy
is to “follow where the river takes you, don’t fight against the
current,” and Death of the Fox’s customers were telling him that
while they liked the combination of beer and coffee, they really
loved the coffee.
Listen for more from Garrity on Death of the Fox’s mix, growing the
coffee side of the business amid strict restrictions on beer and
advice for adding an attractive coffee menu.
Before this week’s featured interview, Jess, Zoe and Justin break
down what Barrel One Collective’s acquisition of Greater Good
Imperial Brewing Company brings to the platform. And the trio play
Another Round or Tabbing Out on 1990s nostalgia seeping into CPG,
with more waterbed and Jelly shoes talk than you’d expect.