TPT Meets: Miguel Cobo
What began as gathering of beer lovers turned into a business venture on Quinta Avenida
Call them buffs, aficionados, geeks or fans but we prefer to call them beer lovers or cervezaphiles. They gather at places like Club de la Cerveza in Playa del Carmen. Miguel Cobo, one of the founders, said they wanted to create a place where friends could enjoy good beer, and where craft beers could be brought to the general public at affordable prices.
TPT: You are originally from Argentina. How did you end up in Playa and with a beer bar/restaurant?
Miguel Cobo: While traveling around, I fell in love with PDC. Having been a beer lover from an early age, I felt this was the perfect place to start the club. Four years ago a group of us started meeting once a month, to taste different beers, and when the group’s sense of friendship became a business idea, Club de la Cerveza was opened, with the same premise as our initial gatherings.
Since a beer club concept is so unique, especially here, how do you find your customers?
The Internet, Facebook, Tripadvisor as well as various beer forums. We work hard on customer service and to have a great beer selection, but of all the ways we find our customers, word of mouth is the one we value the most.
Have you faced any challenges getting the beers you want in the restaurant and how do you overcome them?
The logistics to bring the beer down here can be challenging as there are not many transport companies, and they don’t always fulfill their delivery dates. Sometimes the product arrives broken or with missing cases, plus shipment costs vary every time.
Do you host any special events throughout the year?
Our main dates are 17 March, “St. Patrick’s Day”, 19-21 July “Belgian Beer Fest” and the last weekend of September, “Oktoberfest”. In each festival, we try to reproduce as truly as we can the essence of that beer event in its original country. For St. Patrick’s we have stouts and green beer, for the Belgian we bring in 50 different Belgian beers, food and chocolates and the bar is decorated to create the ambiance of the original festival and the music we play is also related to the event.
Any future expansion plans?
We are trying to remain small so we can keep offering great customer service. The only thing we’re always working on is to expand our beer selection!
