STATEN ISLAND — The manager of a Staten Island bar famed for selling some of the rarest brews in the city is opening a beer store.
Ryan Barker, the manager of Adobe Blues, is working on opening a new shop, Ryerson's, in the North Shore of the borough that will sell craft brews, specialty cheeses and coffee. The space will be the only beer store in the area when it opens.
"Working here and dealing with all the beers and seeing that there was sort of a need for that kind of store on the North Shore of Staten Island," said Barker, explaining what made him think about opening a store.
"Even outside of the wheel and the mall that's coming, I think the North Shore is changing and I think that there’s a space that could be filled."
While Barker hasn't nailed down a location for the store, he hopes to find one somewhere between New Brighton and Stapleton and open up in the summer.
In the meantime, Barker has started an online survey so Staten Island beer lovers can let him know what they like to drink the most.
"Obviously I got my own ideas that I kind of want to do, but I also wanted to do see what the community wants," said Barker, who's lived in the neighborhood for 11 years.
"I want to get the community involved. I don't want to be someone from outside the community that's just coming in to jam something down their throat."
Barker said the store will be equipped to sell growler fills and kegs and will also host classes, tastings and visits from brewers.
Aside from beer, Barker will also sell cheese, coffee and other specialty foods to give North Shore residents a one-stop shop for the products.
Barker has been bar manager of Adobe Blues for five years and the New Brighton spot became famous for its selection of beer since he took the helm.
It is only one of two bars in the borough to be given a "Good Beer Seal" award and it was ranked in the top 10 for biggest selection and rarest brews among hundreds of bars around the city in a study done in December.
He said customers can expect a similar beer selection at the new store and, since he launched the survey this month, the response has been overwhelming.
"The response to the survey has been 10 times more than what I thought," he said.
