SBA loan approved: Craft brewery El Dorado County, CA
There is something very exciting about to happen in El Dorado County; especially if you have a taste for craft beer. It’s still a bit of a secret but its news – big news.
The popularity of craft beers, especially in the counties of El Dorado, Amador, Placer and Sacramento has been exceptionally solid. So solid that two new entrepreneurs have decide to pool over two decades of commercial experience in beer and wine production to open their own craft brewery in El Dorado County and have a specific focus. Their focus will be quality craft lagers and drinkable lower alcohol beers.
What’s the name of this new enterprise?
The name is Solid Ground Brewing.
This new craft brewery will be located in Diamond Springs, CA in the beautiful Sierra Foothills of El Dorado County.
Introducing Solid Ground Brewing
Starting a craft brewery from the ground up is a huge enterprise but has not phased these two new entrepreneurs.
These two new entrepreneurs are Scott Johnson and KC Sare.
Scott brings to the business the following attributes:
- A 4-year Bachelor of Science from UC Davis with a Major in Viticulture and Enology (Wine Science, emphasis in Fermentation Science and Brewing) and a minor in Managerial Economics.
- Studied Brewing Science under Brewing Professor Charlie Bamforth.
- Winemaker/Operations Manager for Perry Creek Winery.
- Management of a wholesale distribution and warehousing company in 8 states, including licensing and compliance.
- Extensive management experience including all accounting, cellar management of 1,300 barrels of wine, POS system management and website development.
- Management of 7-10 “Custom Crush” clients producing wine on a for hire basis.
KC brings to the business the following attributes:
- A 4-year Bachelor of Science with Honors in Brewing and Distilling Science from Heriott-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland.
- Cellarman for the cask ale program in the County Arms tied house, for Young’s Brewery in London, England.
- Brewer for Anheuser-Busch in the Stag Brewery in London producing the full portfolio of AB beers for mainland Europe.
- Production and maintenance scheduling of a 200 barrel Steinecker Brewhouse.
- Brewer for Gordon Biersch Brewing Company in San Jose, California.
- 70,000 barrels of annual production concentrating on traditional German Lagers including bitterness assessment, alcohol testing and long term shelf life testing.
- Sales Manager for the Northern California territory for Gordon Biersch Brewing Co.
- Brewer for Deschutes Brewing Company in Bend, Oregon.
- Consulted and commissioned Amador Brewing Company in Plymouth, California and more.
SBA loan approved for Solid Ground Brewing
To get Solid Ground Brewing off the ground and up and running in Diamond Springs, CA, both KC and Scott have jumped through an extensive range of hoops to obtain their finance. The main source of their funds for their craft brewery has been an SBA loan and as you will find if you talk to KC or Scott it has not been an easy process.
One SBA lender took them through months of work and assurances their loan would be approved, only to decide at the very last minute they were not willing to approve the loan.
Rather than put their dream on hold to open Solid Ground Brewing, the seller of the building that KC and Scott are buying gave me a call and asked if I knew of any SBA lenders who could assist.
As it turned out, I was able to introduce KC and Scott to Kris Kennedy at First Community Bank.
The SBA loan process has become an extremely important part of financing small businesses in the US economy. What may not be readily known is that not all SBA lenders will approve a loan for every type of business in every type of industry. This is the reason that KC and Scott made their loan application through First Community Bank. That is, as part of the loan specialization, First Community Bank has deep knowledge reviewing a construction loan and the industry specialty of craft brewing.
Solid Ground Brewing, El Dorado County points of interest
As KC and Scott are able to build their business from the ground up, they are able to draw heavily on their wine and brewing experience.
In addition, one of the strengths of their business model will be sourcing high quality local suppliers to provide their grains, hops, yeasts and the use of the latest technology to bring it altogether.
Part of their unique approach will include their products and this includes crafting world class beer, ales and wines.
The SBA loan that KC and Scott were able to secure from First Community Bank allows them to close escrow on August 25, 2016. If all then goes according to plan, they will start the demolition of the current building in Diamond Springs a few days later.
If you are curious, the Solid Ground Brewing hopes to open about December 15th, 2016.
If you are curious, the Solid Ground Brewing hopes to open about mid November, 2016.
Finance options when buying or selling a business
If you have an interest to get an SBA loan to finance a business you wish to buy, there are many steps to follow for your loan application to be successful.
For more information you are welcome to visit this page of my website: SBA loan process for a business buyer.
If you are looking to get an SBA loan to finance the purchase of a business, your credit report and credit score will be an important part of your success. Before you make an SBA loan application, check out your credit score and credit report.
If you own a business and are thinking of selling and don’t want to carry the finance for the sale of the business, check out the benefits to a seller to get an SBA loan in place.
