This week we secured a 3-month extension on our real estate purchase contract that will enable us to close on the building near the end of 2007. It feels odd to be talking about the inner aspects of our negotiations here, but I'll just chock that up to ways of the world in the 21st Century. Assembling the equity and financing for a project of this scale ($3M+) is no easy feat, especially when you are a brewpub. One bank asked if we would consider opening a franchise and another asked, 'Would you consider another kind of restaurant besides a brewpub?' Hmmmmm.....no?
Restaurants are risky businesses and plenty of people loose their shirts opening them, but at the same time, as I was once quoted in the NT Times: everybody's got to eat. I've found that most banks, especially some of the national banks, have a strong distaste for lending to restaurants. Fortunately, we've connected with the fine folks at SomerCor 504 to qualify for a Small Business Administration loan. And you won't find me complaining about the recent reduction in interest rates.
I wish I could just blog about the beers I was drinking earlier today (Ommegang Hennepin and Spaten Optimator --both very nice), but it's hard to see the forest through the trees at the moment. Hard to get away from the "make brewery before making beer" issue. As you would expect, I've been keenly interested in the initial reviews and press coverage of Half Acre Beer Company, based in Chicago, which is contracting their beer from Wisconsin. They cite the high hurdle of opening their own brewery as the justification for why they are contracting out to start. They're right on about the height of the hurdles, and being careful to look before you leap business-wise. Here's hoping they can make something of their initial foray into Chicago. The more good beer the better, and at least Wisconsin isn't *that* far away.
If you haven't clicked over to some other beer ocmpany's website that I've linked to (got to stop doing that), I'll try to wrap up the update on us. September has been a real busy month for us and we are 60% towards our overall equity raising goal. Best guess for when our beer will flood Logan Square's sidewalks, streets and alleys: end of 2008.
We hope to begin the public approval process for TIF assistance in October. We've asked the city for financial assistance because we believe this development will help spur more commercial development in Logan Square and bring more businesses to the historic Milwaukee Ave. corridor. If you are a meeting-going type, be on the alert for a community meeting to discuss said assistance and debate the merits of the subsidy we are requesting.