The title of this post reminded me of one of my all-time favorite shows. So, here's a picture.
I realize that it has once again been much too long since I last updated you all on the progress of the distillery. Mostly, I think, I keep waiting to be able to make the “We found a space! We signed a lease! Look out world!” post. And that announcement is coming, rest assured.
Honestly, looking for spaces has taken up a good deal of my time, but it’s not the only thing I’ve been up to. I’ve actually made two offers on spaces that didn’t work out in negotiations and had at least three other very good prospects fall through just as an offer was to be submitted. Part of this is due to the fact that what we’re looking for is pretty specific in terms of size, cost, location, and the biggest obstacle of all: a fire sprinkler system. That said, we’re hard at work and my commercial real estate agent and I have a number of viewings lined up this week and next (lesson learned here: I should have signed on with an agent much sooner in the process). It makes me feel better, though, that Steven over at Sound Spirits assures me that this was the hardest part of his starting up, as well.
Outside of the Great Space Hunt, here are some of the other happenings at Letterpress:
- We successfully completed our first round of fund-raising, hitting our goal and giving us enough capital in the bank to get things rolling. We’re looking forward to starting our second round once our location is locked down. (And looking forward even more to a party at the distillery for our investors! Hi investors! Party’s coming!)
- We have secured the necessary state and federal trademarks for the business (we got our notice from the feds just last week!). That’s right! Just try and name a distillery “Letterpress” now and watch how fast we can spell “cease” and “desist”! It’s pretty fast. Because you know you wanted to, right? Of course. Hold on..I did spell those correctly, didn’t I…?
- As mentioned in the last blog post, we have found a great local farmer from whom we can get our raw grains, and we’ve discussed with him securing “futures” on his crops for the coming years. In the meantime, we’ve got more than a ton of his certified organic rye in storage just waiting to be turned into delicious spirits.
- We’ve purchased one large tank and have lined up sources for our other equipment, including our mash tank, fermentation tanks, and, of course, our still. Once the space is secured, the equipment will be ready to start rolling in.
There’s much more, but those are the highlights. Tomorrow, the search for the right space continues. Over the next week, we’ll be looking at spaces in SoDo, Ballard, Interbay, and Georgetown, and we’ll be looking to lock down the right space at the right price very soon.
Hope you’re all well and I look forward to that day in the very near future when you and I can share our first Letterpress-based drink!
