Meet Kelsey Duque and Adam McCloskey | Craft Beer and Wine Bar Owners

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kelsey Duque and Adam McCloskey and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kelsey and Adam, what principle do you value most?
Community.

This one word is really the cornerstone of everything we do, and we find ourselves coming back to this word when making so many decisions for our business. We want people to feel at home in our spot, to feel like they have a place there, to feel like it’s their bar. We’ve seen such wonderful friendships and relationships start within our walls. Craft beer especially has such an ability to bring people together and we strive to make Bottleshop 48 a place that gives people a chance to develop those connections and feel like they belong.

We also recognize that as employers, we directly impact our community through hiring and wages. Upon completing a short training/probationary period, every single employee, ourselves included, makes the same hourly wage. We all receive regular pay increases as the business will allow. We feel that the better off our community is doing financially, they better we will do in return. One of our primary focuses is to grow enough so can expand our team and employ more people.

Lastly, we are a small neighborhood bar. We only exist because of the community support we receive. Aside from holding gratitude for the people around us, we challenge ourselves to find ways to give back, ranging from having a strong focus on supporting local breweries and businesses to collecting goods for mutual aid.

Keeping the core tenet of community first reminds us why we do what we do. We think about the people we have a direct impact on and it helps us build and run a business that we are proud of.

Please tell us more about your work. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today professionally. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?
We came to owning this business in an unusual way. We had only moved to Arizona about a year prior having returned to the United States after selling most of our possessions and backpacking through SE Asia for 6 months. We had virtually no money and absolutely no plan. Adam picked up a job as a bartender at Bottleshop 48 and Kelsey worked as a preschool teacher, though found herself frequently visiting the bar. Once covid hit and the bar had to close for a few months, the previous owner was going to shut down the bar permanently to allow himself to focus on his primary business. We both had developed a love for the bar and were sad at the thought of having to find a new neighborhood spot. So after sleeping on it for about 2 days, we approached the previous owner about the potential of selling the business to us instead of closing it down. And now we’re here. The proud owners of an amazing craft beer and wine bar.

We think that in life in general, but especially when it comes to business, people think you need to have a plan. You need to figure out all the numbers and projections and timelines and have a 3-year, 5-year, 10-year plan. You have to know how to do everything and have all the answers. And yes, some of that is important. But honestly, life is so weird and it is only getting weirder and truly nothing long-term ever works out the way you think it will. Sometimes you just need to jump at the opportunity in front of you and then work to figure the rest out as you go.

So the way we got to where we are in business is a combination of virtually no planning, a lot of luck, a lot of learning by doing, and one pandemic-induced opportunity. We’ve certainly made mistakes, and we are still navigating the best way to run this business, but coming into it we knew one thing: that Bottleshop 48 had a great community around it and if we just did our best to take care of them, they would take care of us in return. And that’s exactly what happened.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Obviously our first thought is beer. We would definitely take them to some of the amazing breweries we have here in AZ. Some of our favorites: PHX Beer Co., Goldwater, 12 West, Wren House, The Shop, BRI, Arizona Wilderness, Ohso, Greenwood, Walter Station to name a few in our area of the state. (Though there are some incredible breweries up in the Flagstaff area and down in Tucson!)

When we’re not in our own bar, we love to hang out at Tipsy Cactus in Mesa.

We also absolutely adore Century Grand, specifically the Grey Hen Rx. It’s our favorite cocktail bar in AZ. The drinks are stellar, the service is incredible, and the atmosphere is second to none. It’s the spot we have brought the most out of town guests too. And in town for that matter.

For food we love Glai Baan for Thai, Cyclo for Vietnamese, Evo for Italian, Johnny’s Burgers for burgers (duh), Don Nico’s Tacos and Doggos for Mexican, and All Pierogi for Polish/Ukraniain/Russian cuisine.

There’s an awesome board game bar called the Silver Key. As huge board game nerds, it’s definitely become a favorite of ours.

And obviously we would take any guests to our spot, Bottleshop 48!!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
We have long dreamed of owning a craft beer and wine bar and we truly never actually thought it was possible until Jordan Book, the previous owner of Bottleshop 48 helped us achieve that dream. Without his mentorship and guidance, owning a business would not be possible for us. He was not only super patient, giving, and supportive through the transition, but to this day still shows up when we have random plumbing emergencies. We are profoundly grateful to him.

Website: bottleshop48.com

Instagram: @bottleshop48