partnered perfectly with Roth’s long established working knowledge
of the distribu on system, technical exper se, and passion for
brewing. And thus The Southern Brewing Company was born.
Once the decision was made that this dream was going to become
reality, the pair set out to find a home for their brewery. Roth
recalls, “The worst part of this process is feeling like you’re over
your head. There are so many moving parts and so many ques ons
that you’re not going to know the answer to. It’s separa ng your
ego from that that makes it a tough experience.” From site selec on
to the mountain of paperwork to the anxiety of the unknown, the
admi ed experience was far from a fairy tale story, but it does have
a happy ending.
Roth and Goddard used the Small Business Development Center
(SBDC), a program through the University of Georgia that
provides low cost training and free consul ng services
for small businesses. The SBDC helped them create a
business plan, as well as helped them through the
early stages of funding and financial planning.
The Economic Development and Planning Departments were
able to further help by expedi ng the Southern Brewing Company’s
plans review process. “We completed permi ng two weeks before
we closed our Small Business Administra on loan and that was
awesome,” says Roth. “Athens‐Clarke County was very helpful with
the en re process.”
With inquisi ve minds at the helm, there is no limit to where The
Southern Brewing Company can go.
Site plan for The Southern Brewing Company brewery.
Aerial of the construc on site for the new brewery set to open in March 2015.
Cider ready to ferment.
Summer
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