Ideas for a wine and beer brewing store

I have a friend who works in the you-brew industry, at a store that sells beer and wine brewing supplies.  I also have a cousin who works in this industry.  I recently had a very interesting conversation with the friend about how to design that type of store.  I have always been interested in retail design, and I got quite intrigued with the possibilities.

The thing with you-brew stores, I think, is that they have to resist the "commidification" of their industry.  The kits themselves are sold by giant retailers like Costco and Walmart, so a small store cannot win based on price alone.  They have to add value in the form of service, knowledge and assistance.  The store design needs to reflect this.  They also have to sell the romantic idea of home brewing, plus maybe the value proposition that home brewing represents (but careful on that last one, because once again, Walmart/Costco will beat you there!)

So, I think a good ubrew store will look like a nice friendly place where you can learn to brew, or even discuss brewing  if you have knowledge already.  It will echo or suggest the home environment where you will have a fun time making your beer and wine, and also the place where you will store your treasure of dozens of bottles of wine.  So, some suggestions for store design:

• You want to suggest hygiene and cleanliness but you don't want to be a stainless steel laboratory.  You also don't want to be nothing but shelving full of kits, because Walmart/Costco can do that as well as you can.  Have some homey domestic elements in your furnishings. 
• It would be great to have some area that suggests a wine cellar bursting with wonderful wine, dozens or hundreds of bottles resting, awaiting the day that they get opened.
• I think it would be good to have a bookshelf with some winemaking and brewing books.  This could be very small, just a 3' bookshelf, and you may never expect to sell a book, but it suggests the expertise and learning that is available.  Combine this with a small leather armchair and a tiny side table with a lamp - wonderful, you have a library in about 12 square feet of space!  Plus it gives the bored spouse somewhere to sit, and it suggests domesticity and friendliness.  Plus the owner has a comfy spot for when no one is in the store ...
• There should be display areas for showing kits that are highlighted or on sale, plus some shelving to store the other kits.
• Certain brewing equipment such as carboys are visually attractive and interesting.  I would put at least some carboys and interesting glassware out where people can see it.

With some of this in mind, I designed a floorplan that I thought would be cool.  Here it is:

 

You will see that there are two display areas, one by the front window and one in front of a central row of shelving.  I would see these being table height.  They could be tables or they could be some kind of countertop.  I would think that tables, new ones (Ikea?) or even antique dining room tables, might be good options.  Extra kits could be stored under the tables.

 In the front of the store, I put the cash register on one side and an armchair and bookshelf on the other.  In the back half of the store, I put higher shelving along the walls and lower shelving (4 or 5') in the middle.  I would put a few glass carboys along the top of the low middle shelving, out of their boxes and not too many.

In a back corner I put a "wine cellar".  I see this as an area to store empty bottles that are for sale - might as well make them look appealing!  It would be nice for this area to be a little separate from the other area and kind of cosy feeling (like a wine cellar), but you wouldn't want it truly cut off from the rest of the store or out of the line of sight of the cash register.  I put two archways above the aisles that go into the corner, to suggest a separate room without really cutting it off.  I would remove any overhead lighting in this corner and put in directed halogen lights to illuminate the product but keep it a little dark overhead.  A slightly dropped ceiling, e.g. of lattice, in the area would be nice, although the whole thing would have to be freestanding to not damage a rented space.  Here is a picture of what I envision:

This is looking from the same wall the cash register is on, about halfway down the store.  Another view, from the front door: