Pour Taproom

What Pour Taproom does

Pour Taproom, founded in 2014 in Asheville, North Carolina and now headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, operates a self-serve taproom concept under which customers sample craft beer, wine, ciders, meads, and cocktails by the ounce from a wall of 68 always-rotating digital taps. The core technology is an IoT-enabled dispense system: patrons check in with a government-issued ID and a debit or credit card to receive an RFID wristband that activates any tap, and they pay only for the volume they pour. Each location curates a market-specific selection celebrating local and regional breweries, with the Knoxville venue alone having tapped over 3,000 different beverages in seven-plus years of operation.

The company's revenue model is a hybrid of usage-based pour sales, ancillary food and merchandise, off-premise growler fills (with a 20% discount when filled), and private event bookings for corporate happy hours, weddings, birthdays, and fundraisers. Distribution is through a mix of corporate-owned and franchise locations across eight cities in the East and Southeast US (Atlanta, Asheville, Buffalo, Charleston, Durham, Jacksonville, Knoxville, Wilmington), with each franchisee independently and locally owned. The company actively recruits new franchisees via [email protected]. Customer segments center on craft beer and wine enthusiasts seeking low-commitment discovery, social groups wanting a casual multi-taste environment, and corporate/private event hosts.

Operationally the business is a low-headcount, asset-light franchisor with 11–50 total employees and no disclosed institutional capital, parent company, or M&A activity. Pour Taproom supplements its on-premise experience with branded programming — live music weekends, weekly trivia, local brewery partnerships including co-branded beer releases — to drive repeat traffic, and extends the brand through reusable gift cards and merchandise (glasses, shirts, hats, koozies). The concept is positioned as a "beer and wine festival every day of the week" with no admission cost, distinguishing it from traditional full-pint bar formats.

Name

Pour Taproom

Website

https://pourtaproom.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Pour Taproom operates self-serve taproom venues across eight US cities where customers pour craft beer, wine, and cocktails by the ounce from 68 rotating digital taps via a wristband system, with additional revenue from food, growlers, merchandise, and private events under a franchise model.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Self-serve taproom / beverage hospitality

NAICS

Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) (7224)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)

akta.pro primary industry

Craft Beer Bars & Taprooms (THAFAEAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Taprooms & Brewpubs (CRANACAF), Brewpubs & Taprooms (On-site Beer Service) (THAFALAA)

Keywords

• Self-serve taproom
• Beer by the ounce
• Draft beer service
• Growler fills
• Taproom franchise

Headquarters

HQ city

Asheville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Pour-by-Ounce Sales: Revenue from selling beer, wine, and spirits by the ounce through self-serve taps. Customers pay for exact amounts poured.
2. Food & Merchandise Sales: Sale of food items (pretzels, nachos, paninis) and merchandise (specialty glasses, shirts, hats, koozies, growlers).
3. Growler Fills: Glass growlers available for purchase with 20% discount on total tab when filled. Customers can bring their own growlers.
4. Private Event Booking: Revenue from hosting private events including corporate happy hours, wedding after-parties, birthday parties, fundraisers, and social hours.
5. Franchise Fees: Franchising opportunities generate revenue through franchise agreements. Each location is independently and locally owned and operated.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Pour Taproom operates self-serve taprooms featuring 68 rotating digital taps where customers activate a card or wristband, self-pour their beer, and pay by the ounce. The concept combines draft beer service with food, merchandise, growler fills, private events, and franchising across eight locations in the East and Southeast United States.

Product overview

Pour Taproom is a unified self-serve taproom concept offering a rotating selection of craft beers, wines, ciders, meads, and cocktails across multiple franchise locations. The core product is the self-serve tapwall system with 68+ digital taps where customers pay by the ounce. Supporting offerings include a food menu, growler sales with discounts, gift cards, merchandise, and private event services. All locations celebrate the local craft scene with community-specific selections.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Self-Serve Taproom Experience Pay-by-the-ounce self-pour draft beer service across 68 rotating digital taps at each Pour Taproom location, aimed at adult craft beer consumers.
• Food Service Food offerings available alongside beer service at Pour Taproom taproom locations.
• Merchandise Branded merchandise sold at Pour Taproom taproom locations.
• Growler Fills Off-premise beer to-go via growler fills using the same self-pour tap system.
• Private Events Booking of taproom spaces for private events, parties, and group gatherings.
• Pour Taproom Franchise Franchise offering that licenses the Pour Taproom self-serve taproom brand, operating system, and concept to franchisees who open new locations under the system.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 3,000 different beverages sampled at a single location in 7+ years
• +1 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Others

• Pour Taproom: Subject company reference included only as anchor.
• Beverage Metrics (iPour technology): Provider of self-serve tapwall metering technology used by self-pour bar operators. Comparable as the infrastructure layer enabling Pour Taproom's core pour-by-the-ounce model and a potential partner or competitor depending on vertical integration.

Broad incumbents

• BJ's Restaurant Brewhouse: National brewpub chain combining on-site beer brewing with a wide draft selection and bar service. Comparable as a multi-unit franchise-feel craft beer concept, though it manufactures rather than curates taps.
• Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant: Multi-unit brewpub chain pairing on-site brewing with draft-heavy bar service. Comparable to Pour Taproom in the craft-beer-on-tap experiential dining niche.
• Yard House: Large national full-service restaurant chain centered on a 100+ tap draft beer program. Operates in the same on-premise craft/draft beer category as Pour Taproom but at substantially larger scale with full kitchens.

Direct peers

• World of Beer: A franchised craft beer bar chain with a large rotating tap wall across many US cities. Closest operational and brand analogue to Pour Taproom — multi-unit franchise model built around craft beer discovery.
• HopCat: Multi-location craft beer tavern chain known for an extensive tap list and 'beer-focused' positioning. Comparable to Pour Taproom in craft-centric menu, rotating selection, and bar-restaurant hybrid format.

Regional players

• The Trappist: Bay Area craft beer bar known for an unusually deep rotating tap selection and curated bottle list. Mirrors Pour Taproom's discovery-and-rotation value proposition, but operates only regionally and as a single (small chain) venue.
• Monk's Kettle: San Francisco craft beer tavern emphasizing a curated rotating draft list and food pairing. Comparable as a craft-focused taproom with strong local identity, though single-location and regional.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/pourtaproom
• Facebookfacebook.com/pourtaproom
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/pour-taproom---greenville

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Pour Taproom