Diamonte Zarba, 25, has big plans on tap.
The downstate native moved to Delhi earlier this year and expects to launch Zarba’s Craft Beer at 83½ Main St. in Delhi in early December.
“I went to school (in Delhi) in 2013 and have been coming back for seven years on and off,” Zarba said. He said he majored in business administration while at SUNY Delhi. “I moved up here full time at the beginning of the pandemic, but as early as late 2019, I began to make business plays here. (Real estate) is my day-to-day job … and I run a digital marketing company.
“Basketball was my thing (while at school), until an injury forced me to decide what to do with my life,” Zarba said. “This is my first solo venture … and I’m looking to put roots down here.”
The craft beer store, Zarba said, was inspired by Delhi’s changing demographics.
“The market in the Delhi area has changed in the last five to 10 years,” he said. “Delhi is very bullish, millennials are in town and city dwellers are leaving the city to come up here and expand. There’s a market that’s underserved; if I want a craft beer now (in Delhi), I have to go to Price Chopper. I think there’s a need not only with locals, but with visitors and college students.”
Zarba said, taking cues from such cultural shifts and emphasizing craft, he plans to focus on New York state and regional beers.
“I see it being a small, concise place with a range of options,” he said. “There are over 200 breweries in New York state, and I think we focus on that and maybe (beers from) the east coast and that will be enough of an array for people to choose from.
“I don’t think we’ll sell many Budweisers or Bud Lights,” Zarba said, “but we’ll be focused on all the ales and lagers — the domestics (such as) Roscoe Beer Co., Ommegang and Brooklyn Brewery.”
Store general manager and Zarba’s longtime friend Terrell Patterson, 27, echoed the entrepreneur’s sentiments.
“We’re really trying to focus on New York state beers and we want to remain true to our home,” Patterson said. “The demographic in Delhi is actually changing and it’s gone from a lot of older (people) to younger and more hip people and more millennials. We think (the store) is going to work out because it’s all transitioning and we can transition with it.”
Zarba said community members are toasting the soon-to-come store.
“The community is very small and (news) spreads very quickly,” he said. “I put a sign up maybe a month ago — nothing too elaborate, just ‘Zarba’s, coming soon’ — and throughout the Facebook community, it’s already being talked about and I did a radio interview, as well.
“It’s very new and niche and, being that it’s new and niche, people are excited,” Zarba said. “There hasn’t been anything like it in town that I’ve seen, and people like drinking beer. It’s a minimalist and simple concept — just beer — and I didn’t move from the city to the Catskills for any other reason than that simplicity.”
Zarba said he plans to implement “very green and eco-friendly” measures within the store, including beer sold by the bottle, instead of in packaging, and a “build-your-own six-pack” option. He said he’d also like to build an outdoor biergarten.
“I want to be new and different,” he said. “I want to work with who I am and who my generation is.”
Zarba said, after establishing a reputation in Delhi, he hopes to tap into other local markets.
“I have a three-step expansion plan: I start with Delhi, I expand into the Margaretville/Andes side and then move toward Oneonta,” he said. “And who doesn’t like beer? If I’m in Hamden or Bovina and know there’s a place to get quality beer for a good price that I can’t get anywhere else, it’s worth it.”
Zarba’s Craft Beer will be open seven days a week. For more information, opening updates and hours, visit zarbascraftbeer.com, find “Zarba’s Craft Beer & Grocery” on Facebook or follow @zarbascraftbeer on Instagram.
November 07, 2020 at 05:38AM
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Former SUNY Delhi student plans craft beer store in Delhi - Oneonta Daily Star
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