Drifa Brewing Co | Application Preview
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General Information
Business Registration Number: Drifa Brewing Co
Location: Marquette, MI, United States
Length of Operation: 1-5
Number of Employees: 1-10 Employees
Annual Gross Income: Less than $100k
Annual Gross Expense: $100k to $250k
Open to Loans: NO
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Funding Usage
If we are awarded the grant we would use the funds for payroll and operating expenses. We would also begin upgrading our beer garden as well as building a 3 seasons room off the beergarden that would increase our footprint by double. This would enable us to serve more people and broaden our venue to increased revenue. Additionally we have plans to build an rooftop patio so our patrons would have a unique view of Lake Superior and all it has to offer. It would be an inviting and peaceful escapre for our tourist who walk and ride bikes along the bike path that runs in front of our establisment.
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Business Plan
In the next 5 years we have dreams of upgrading our brewing system so that we can get our product out into the community. We have dreams of canning our product and also having our brews in local restraurants and bars. We would like to increase our footprint by making our beergarden more visually appealing and add a 3 seasons room off of the building to take full advantage of the natual beauty we have in our area. We would also like to be able to begin paying off the initial loan and paying dividens to our members. We are the only co operative brewery in the state of Michigan and one of 12 in the entire United States. We have 700+ members who each paid $100 for a life time membership. With this membership they are given discounts on merchandise and beer prices. Members also have a say in the future of the brewery, voting rights on issues placed before the membership, and hopfully one day dividens will be distributed to those members as other co ops do. Right now we are having a very difficult time surviving the day to day expenses it takes to run a business. We opened our doors at the beginning of covid. Also, after renovations were completed we finally opened our doors in November and 3 months later the entire state shut down for Covid. Being a co operative brewery we didn't receive the support other small businesses did because we were a co operative. We fell in the grey area and were not awarded any of the help the state provided other business. We managed to make it through covid, by selling beer to go, and members purchasing gift cards they could use at a later date. But, honestly we have been digging ourselves out of a hole ever since. We have such a unique business model of being a cooperative brewery we would like to continue capitalize on this and fullfil the promises and vision we presented to our members.
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Self Identified Competition
The entire state of Michigan is known for its breweries. The Upper Peninsula Michigan is no exception. In our town we have 7 breweries. Blackrocks brewery, Ore Dock Brewing Company and Kognition Brewing Company are our biggest and closest competitiors. Our area has a large tourist population but we are off the beaten path just a little bit and tourists dont readily know we are here. As mentioned before, our unquie business model ,of being a cooperative brewery is very appealing to many people. The idea that everyone technically owns the brewery and one day could see a profit from it is verr appealing. One of our slogans is "I own a brewery with a bunch of my friends" We are also the only brewery in our area that has a beautiful view of Lake Superior and is right along a 50 mile bike path that connects a few local cities by this path. We have a tremendous amount of outdoor recreational activities and our tourism revovles around these particular activities. These activities are hiking, mountain biking, skiing, snowmobiling, rock climbing, camping and brewery touring. Our area also has a rich history in mining various elements and to this day it is one of our biggest employers to the area. Our Co operative brewery has tried to incorportate these rich, but diverse elements into our brewery. We often hold worshops on the local wild life, art classes in the brewery, poetry readings, the beer garden is dog friendly and all the area musicians come to play in our taproom on the weekends.
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Contact Applicant
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