Abbey - DeLand Florida Beer and Wine

Where did the name ABBEY come from?
We have always been impressed with the history and consistency by
which Belgium has produced its’ beers.  This is best revealed in the
Trappiste monasteries where monks produce what is commonly thought of as the
greatest expression of beermaking on this planet.  We judiciously chose not
to use the name "The ABBEY" because we did not want to minimalize the importance
of the time and care that these people take into their craft.

How long have we been open?
We opened on May 23, 2006

How often do we change the menu?
Believe it or not, we change the food menus and the beverage menus
every few weeks.  We feel this enables our loyal guests an opportunity to
continually have fresh things to try.  It also serves our need to keep
moving and never rest on our laurels.

OUR HISTORY

When we first began planning ABBEY, four of us sat around and talked about
what we wanted to achieve with the company. Our mission statement was simple,
but difficult

"To create and promote beer and wine enthusiasts." I have come to understand
that there is a distinct difference between the Mission Statement and the
Statement of Purpose.

With the addition of a food menu, we needed to transmit this Statement of
Purpose clearly

To promote and support those who seek enjoyment from or through their
consumption of food, wine, and beer. To aid these in finding their flavor
profile.  To help them to enrich this side of their lives in an affordable
and value-driven manner. 

And why this purpose?  Because enjoyment has been lost in America. Food
and beverage has been reduced to what is fast, cheap, and most plentiful.
"Sitting down to a nice meal" hardly exists anymore. And why?

1.    Revenue management has streamlined the restaurant
business into a get-em-in-get-em-out mentality.  It costs a ton of money to
operate a business and between payroll, taxes, insurance, fees, etc., etc.,
etc., corporations need to squeeze as much as they can out of every person and
turn them over as quick as possible in order to just stay in business. 

So who suffers?  As quality, genuine friendliness, thoughtfulness, and
hospitality go down, we lose sight of why we are spending so much money to have
a meal.  As restaurant staff, you become disenfranchised with the system
because people are angry at this idea and are hostile toward you. In the end,
both customer and business are just a means to an end. Everybody loses. It is
this that we have vowed to combat.

2.    We are a nation of consumers. More is better. Think
about this.  What is the best sandwich I have ever eaten? Chances are many
of you would comment on how much "stuff" was in it.  Flavor takes second
place to the sheer amount. Do we really need to eat a 64 oz steak? As a
business, how do we enable ourselves to meet these needs? If a better turkey
sandwich is simply a BIGGER turkey sandwich, we need to provide you with more
turkey.  How do we do that while keeping costs and prices competitive? We
use cheap turkey. What do you get from cheap turkey?  Not flavor. Not
quality. Not enjoyment. 

Under this line of thinking, take it to a different level.  If you have
a goal to read 20 books in a year, what is your best means to get there? 
Read Children’s books.  You can fly through those.  They will not make
you any better, they will not challenge, you, and you will gain nothing useful
from them, but you will have achieved your goal.  Think about this metaphor
the next time you sit down to a meal.  Are you simply looking for a means
to an end?

3.    It is just not important to Americans. We are running so
fast to get somewhere that we will never get to, that the "stop and smell the
roses" ideals are gone. We do not realize this, however, until it is too late. 

We want everyone to be comfortable in our place. Take the time to enjoy each
other.

4.    We cannot find it anywhere. The ideals are lost from
both sides of the ball.  How many times have you been looking for something
simple, healthful, enjoyable, and you have not been able to find it?  When
it comes to food and beverage, the word "satisfied" is less and less commonly
used.  That is the word that we are hoping to hear out of everyone’s
mouths.

In the past, the only interesting foods that I have served to people have
been in places where the costs were prohibitive for everyday use. 
"Quality’ was only available to those who had more money than your average
citizen.  I want to avoid this trap.   I want our four walls to
be a place of simple enjoyment. 

Just come in and have a good time and feel good about yourself when you
leave.  Feel like the money you spent was not just spent to fill your
belly, or to catch a buzz.   I want you to appreciate yourselves and
the hard work that you put into your lives. 

Here’s to the celebration of community, the power of caring,
and the downfall of commoditized experiences !!!!

Todd Carpenter