About Us
🍺 The Alternative Beverage Journey: From Disgruntled Neighbors to Homebrew Hub
In 1973, neighbors Jess Faucette and Don Baker, disgruntled with their jobs, conceived the idea for a "beverage store" during a Memorial Day weekend trip to the beach. Fueling their idea was the outrageous price of beer they purchased for the weekend.
They opened Alternative Beverage on November 9, 1973, in a converted Charlotte gas station, where they found a profitable niche, selling everything from beer to fine wine and cheeses. The 1973 oil embargo proved to be an unexpected boon: by selling gas later in the day than other area stations, they attracted mile-long lines, turning captive customers into buyers of beer and wine. By their first July 4th, they were a major beer source in Charlotte, becoming one of North Carolina's 10 largest beer and wine retailers within a year.
After losing their initial lease in 1975, Jess bought out Don's stake and relocated the business. In 1977, Jess ventured into homebrewing supplies, becoming an early customer of national suppliers. Teaming up with employee Mike Waker, they significantly improved the quality of homebrew recipes, driving sales growth, and by 1979, the focus shifted exclusively to brewing and winemaking supplies in a warehouse, becoming one of the country's largest mail-order homebrew shops.
In 2007, Alternative Beverage moved to its current Belmont location, later adding short-lived Charlotte and Mooresville stores. The COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted retail, leading to the closure of the Mooresville and Charlotte locations.
In 2025, following the death of his best friend and long-time employee, Dennis Tally, Jess, then 77, decided to retire. He sold Alternative Beverage to Robert Jennings on September 10, 2025. Jess takes great pride in the shop's impact on the Charlotte craft beverage scene, noting that at least nine former employees went on to become professional brewery owners or head brewers.
Throughout our 53 history, Alternative Beverage has been and remains a labor of love, not just a job. We continue to enjoy the time we get to spend with the brewers, winemakers and all the other great people who keep these hobbies vibrant and we expect to continue doing what we do for many more years to come!
