Gordon Biersch Brewery background info and business suggestions for future success

Background:

In 1988, Dan Gordon, one of America's leading brewery engineers along with Dean Biersch, longtime West Coast restaurateur, partnered to open the first Gordon Biersch brewery in Palo Alto, California. One of the most popular breweries in the western United States, Gordon Biersch has microbreweries, or brewpubs, in California, Nevada, Arizona, Hawaii, and Washington. Their authentic German-style lagers have earned a loyal following in the country and have won awards worldwide. The Gordon Biersch Brewing Company, Inc. was the first domestic company to combine up-scale dining with on-site brewing. The partners aspired to an image of "gourmet without pretension" and are committed to producing the finest lager beers using the freshest and highest quality domestic and imported ingredients. The concept that they sought after was to "provide high quality, moderately priced dining and professional service in a lively atmosphere featuring exceptional German-style lagers in on-site breweries." They would go about doing so by means of the overall atmosphere of the restaurant and by the quality of food on the menu.

Gordon Biersch Brewing Company

The delivery area of the Gordon Biersch Brewing Co...

The exterior of the Gordon Biersch Brewing Company...

For starters, Gordon and Biersch wanted their brewpubs to appear trendy yet upscale. This was meant to appeal as much to older generations as well as to the younger generation. The menu consists of moderately priced entrees from various cultural cuisines and four German lagers that are brewed on site. The restaurant served just about every type of food but the key to their uniqueness was that they only offered four different kinds of beer. With this setup, Gordon and Biersch were sure that they would succeed.

In order to fully appreciate the Gordon Biersch Brewing Company, a brief description of the two partners and the role in the partnership must be described. Dan Gordon, co-founder of Gordon Biersch Brewing Company, has earned a reputation...