Bicycle Beer Delivery Service

[3YM]

Hi there,

I'm trying to start my own business, on the side of work initially but hopefully it could become full time. I'm thinking of offering a beer delivery service by bicycle. Here in Portland, OR there's tons of breweries and tons of beer consumers. Many like me have purchased growlers but I always forget to bring them with me to a bar to fill them up. I'm thinking a delivery service where I pick up people's growlers once a month, fill them with a beer from that months brewery and drop them off at their house, all by bicycle.

I'm going with the bicycle option because I have an incredibly small amount of money to invest (under $500). It also appeals to my, and the other Portland hipsters, environmental philosophies. Perhaps the bike would be a unique feature of my company that people would like.

There's a ton of questions I have about starting a company though.
- I live with my in laws, having just moved to America. Do I need to make myself an LLC before I pick up a single beer or can I test the theory before needing to register as a business?
- If I register as an LLC is it wise to use my home address at the start, or should I pay a business service to use their address (especially considering I don't own the property)?
- Does anyone have any advice on how to collect payment? I'm thinking at the start when I pick up the growler, the customer pays me. This way I could start the business without a website and just use a Facebook page.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

3YM

[Harold Mansfield]

First things first. Check local laws about delivering alcohol and find out if it's permissible and what you need to do to apply for a license and be approved.

Accepting payment is easy. Every major payment processor has mobile card swipers.

All of your other questions are easily figured out. Your immediate concern is if it's legal and if you specifically can get a license to do it.

[3YM]

Thanks very much. Yeah I hadn't figured the law would be an issue with regards to delivering alcohol. Seems to be a bit stricter here than I thought.

[BizAdvisor]

Perhaps this link may be of some help. (http://m.businessnameusa.com/Answers/Portland%20Bicycle%20Courier%20Service%20Laws%20Li censing.aspx)

[3YM]

Thanks, that's really helpful!

[3YM]

Upon reviewing Portland's laws a beer delivery service would not be feasible. You yanks and your strict laws.

[Harold Mansfield]

Upon reviewing Portland's laws a beer delivery service would not be feasible. You yanks and your strict laws.
Sorry to hear that it's a "no go", but I kinda figured there would be some kind of rules if no one was doing this already.

We suck when it comes to Alcohol laws. Between the Fed rules and then each individual state, sometimes even the county or town, having completely different rules and agencies, it's a mess.

In some states a liquor store can literally have a drive through window.
Some states can sell booze to go, like in a plastic cup.
In some states a bar can sell package liquor too.
Some states are open till 1 a.m. Some till 2. Some till 4.
One is 24 hours (Mine :) ).
A few don't sell on Sunday.
One only sells in private clubs and you have to be invited to be a member to them and pay a fee.
In one state you can only have hard liquor if you order food.
One state will only sell you one drink at a time.
One state has dry counties where there are no sales.
In some states you have to actually buy alcohol from the state, via state owned stores.
In some states you can get alcohol delivered, and in others you can't.
In a couple of states you can make you own beer and wine, but in other states making your own corn whiskey is against the law.

There are 65+ different sets of rules depending on which state or territory you're in.
Very few allow alcohol delivery. Maybe 25 states.

What do they all have on common? A lot of these laws are really old (post prohibition) because at some point the local religious community were able to have total influence over how strict the laws are.

In areas with a strong religious presence, you'll see some of the more ridiculous ones. However they get a little more relaxed in areas with high tourism.
It's ridiculous and yet fascinating at the same time.

[3YM]

Yeah it is interesting. I figured if I could do it anywhere it would be Portland, what with all their breweries. I did think it was strange no one was offering the service, such a great gap in the market. Just read that Amazon is waiting for Portland to change it's delivery laws too. I know you can't buy spirits here unless it is in a liquor shop.

I haven't given up on the idea though. I'm just going to pivot towards coffee. I'm going to try and run it like a buyers club, or perhaps offer delivery for one of Portland's many roasters. People would order ground coffee online and once a week I would deliver it by bicycle. That's my current thinking atm. Visited Happy Cup Coffee Company today, they seem pretty enthusiastic about the idea. Fingers crossed.

[Harold Mansfield]

Yeah it is interesting. I figured if I could do it anywhere it would be Portland, what with all their breweries. I did think it was strange no one was offering the service, such a great gap in the market. Just read that Amazon is waiting for Portland to change it's delivery laws too. I know you can't buy spirits here unless it is in a liquor shop.

I haven't given up on the idea though. I'm just going to pivot towards coffee. I'm going to try and run it like a buyers club, or perhaps offer delivery for one of Portland's many roasters. People would order ground coffee online and once a week I would deliver it by bicycle. That's my current thinking atm. Visited Happy Cup Coffee Company today, they seem pretty enthusiastic about the idea. Fingers crossed.


Never give up. Many times the process of learning about implementing one idea opens up the possibility of others. Amazon is going to go hard on delivery in that area, but there's always a niche to exploit.