Here's The Nasty Note Artisan Cellars Put Up When They Ditched 3 Floyds
By Anthony Todd in Food on May 24, 2016 9:23PM
Updated May 25: Artisan Cellar's owner Phillip Bernstein chatted with us Wednesday about the sign, which has been posted at his store for years, and why 3 Floyds is on his blacklist.
We also heard back from a 3 Floyds spokesperson via email, who said that Artisan Cellar hasn't carried 3 Floyds for at least four years, and has never contacted the brewery, to her knowledge, to find out about selling 3 Floyds. "We strive to make sure all questions regarding supply issues and sales strategy are answered quickly and correctly," she wrote. "Unfortunately, we do not make enough beer to meet our current market demands. That translates into many accounts who would love to have our beer -as well as accounts we would love to sell product to - not being able to get any."
Artisan Cellar, located in the Merchandise Mart, has announced via a physical note pasted up in their store that they won't be carrying Three Floyds products anymore—and they included some pretty sick burns.
Three Floyds is known for having a bit of an attitude. Remember, this is the brewery that used to make guests (including myself) stand out in the rain waiting to get into its brewpub while the foyer of the restaurant was empty just because it could. While beloved by beer geeks, the brewery isn't always so beloved by restaurants and bars, because they can apparently be very stingy with their allocations.
Now, if you're a brewer sitting on a large amount of highly sought-after beers, maybe you can do what you want with it, and people are willing to pay $200 a head for access to one of their beers. But at least one store is pushing back.
Former Chicagoist writer (and now AV Club Managing Editor) Laura Browning spotted the following sign at Artisan Cellar.
Daaaamn. pic.twitter.com/2cYtVaIynf
— Laura M. Browning (@ellembee) May 24, 2016
Now, when a store stops carrying a product, that can be a bit of a bummer. But when a store feels the need to announce that stoppage to the entire world? Someone's pissed. Plus, implying that they don't have the "proper sales outlook" and "client service mentality?" Ouch.