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A new beverage membership program launched this month with a focus on supporting local businesses downtown Livermore.
Dubbed Downtown Pour Collective, the club offers paid members five drinks monthly during select times at bars and restaurants including Demitri’s Taverna, Swirl on the Square, The Cheese Parlor, Calamari Bistro & Bar, Stampede Bar & Grill, Bruno’s Italian Cuisine, L Campo and Wingen Bakery & Restaurant.
More than a way to grab a drink, collective founder and Livermore resident Nick Martinez said the collective is about showing up for independently owned businesses and giving members an experiential pour.
The collective comes at a time of rising operational costs and what Martinez described as repeated wonderings from local business owners on how to attract more customers during off-peak hours.
“Downtown Livermore already has the venues and the people. What it didn’t have was a reason to make showing up a habit,” Martinez said in a statement announcing the launch of the collective. “DPC gives members a standing invitation to the places that make this downtown worth keeping.”
Prior to creating the collective, Martinez worked for about 20 years in restaurant operations for national brands, he said.
Martinez decided to apply his industry knowledge to a new endeavor in consulting and coaching local businesses in Livermore after moving to the city about two years ago, he explained.
The venture evolved into his founding of Downtown Pour Collective.
Featuring three registration groups, the program is tailored to consumers of beer, wine or spirits and cocktails, according to Martinez.
“You oftentimes hear of drinking less, which I definitely get that,” Martinez said. “Maybe not everybody wants a glass of wine or a beer or a cocktail, but they want the different experience that makes them feel special, that they can post about that everyone else isn’t also experiencing as well.”
Pours can be redeemed any time during business hours Sundays through Thursdays or before 4 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
Among the initial eight collective partners, The Cheese Parlor co-owner Brandon Wood said he joined the program as a way to prop up local businesses as a whole.
“We all rise together, so the more and more we support each other in Livermore, the more and more we all can grow together as a unit and as a town, instead of just as individual businesses,” Wood explained.
Swirl on the Square owner Michelle Braatz said she joined the collective as a way to attract attention to businesses downtown. “Especially for me being on the outskirt of the downtown, this should get eyeballs on my restaurant,” she explained.
In addition to the beverages, an item from a local artisan will be available every month at a partner venue, according to the collective website. Members can also collect a total of 36 coasters at partner venues throughout a one-year period to construct a piece of artwork depicting the city.
Downtown Pour Collective plans to host a monthly Social Pour event for networking and socializing, beginning in September.
Although Martinez’s initial focus is boosting bar sales, where profit margins are highest, he plans to expand offerings to dining.
Martinez said he also intends in the future to expand the collective to the wider Tri-Valley, beginning with Pleasanton.
