Art2Unite Encourages Hartford Arts Community, Supports Local Charities

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Art2Unite Encourages Hartford Arts Community, Supports Local Charities

June 08 2018 Innovation Destination: Hartford CT Lifestyle 0 comments Tags: Art2Unite, arts, community, Connecticut, CT, Hartford, innovation

ARt2Unite event coordinator Christine Chaise Greenwood with participating artist Maurice Robertson (Photo courtesy Maurice Robertson)

Art2Unite, the first International Art & Music Fundraiser Show in Hartford, took place Saturday, June 2, at Hartford ArtSpace.

The event was spearheaded by local artist and event coordinator Christine Chaise Greenwood, who had two missions. “I wanted to bring the community together and raise money for Hartford-area charities,” she explains, emphasizing the importance of making the event open for all to participate.

making connections, building a community

“I think it worked, because we connected,” she says. “I think art has the power to do that.”

The idea to make the event “international” is a personal one for Christine, who was born and raised in France and move to the United States in 1988. Like Christine, many of the participating artists descend from other countries, including Chile, England, Haiti, Poland, Russia, and Sweden.

“We all come from somewhere in the world,” emphasizes Christine, “And we are all a part of the community here in Greater Hartford.”

When it came to finding local charities to support, Christine decided to spread the wealth among three. “I researched and reached out to each organization—they were thrilled,” she says.

Bloomfield, CT-based Foodshare; the Greater Hartford Harm Reduction Coalition, which is working to fight opioid abuse; and the Hartford homeless shelter South Park Inn will receive 10% of the proceeds from art sales and all of the proceeds from an art raffle.

Raffle contributors included Non-Scents Flowers, Hartford Flavor Company. Sponsors included Hog River Brewing, Division West, Hall’s Market, and Mystic Cheese Co.

Art2Unite attendees admire a piece of art by event coordinator Christine Chaise (Photo courtesy Ron Crowcroft)

Art2Unite was well attended, with a turnout of about 250 people who spent an evening in Hartford viewing and interacting with art, music, and dance from more than 25 national and international artists.

artists as innovators

Attendees were also able to watch a live 3D printing demonstration from MakerspaceCT co-founders Devra Sisitsky and Brian Patton, which provided an opportunity for artists to see how they can create three-dimensional sculptures.

“Artists are truly innovators,” notes Christine. “I reached out to Devra because I thought she would be great to introduce to the artist community.”

She adds, “We want Hartford to be dynamic and vibrant. A lot of that can be done thought the arts. Hartford has the talent—you can find that bridge between technology and art. MakerspaceCT provides a big potential for doing things together.”

Hartford-area artist Benjamin Grippo agrees. “I was really glad to see that a place like MakerspaceCT exists,” he says. “I have a lot of hobbies that I feel could burn out or become a ‘one and done’ project. I think MakerspaceCT would be cool to check out because others like me can always follow up with their projects and not have them left behind at home.”

Ben played an integral role in Art2Unite, not only displaying his artwork, but also brainstorming with Christine early on and helping find food and drink contributors for the event.

Christine is the first to admit her gratitude for all those involved, from all the artists to the musicians and DJ, to the food and drink suppliers, and volunteers.

Art2Unite took place June 2 at Hartford ArtSpace. (Photo courtesy Maurice Robertson)

“It sounds clichéd, but it really does take a village,” she admits. “I feel I really created a ‘family’ of people working together to create and to give back to the community. Everyone who participated was so generous. When it comes to helping coordinate an event, the community is always there.”

Christine says the community involvement and participation exceeded her expectations—and it started when she was building the buzz about the event. “I was encouraged from the start,” she says.

artists as entrepreneurs

Art2Unite is likely to be an annual event. Christine admits she learned a great deal organizing the community event. “As an artist, you have to know how to market, and sometimes do event planning. This is the second time. But really my first time planning something on my own.”

She continues, “Being an artist and planning these types of events is entrepreneurial in some ways—you have an idea and you go for it. Having an idea is not enough.”

Learn more about ArtSpace Hartford

VISIT: www.artspacehartford.com
FOLLOW: Facebook
READ: Interview with Amy LaBossiere, Co-Director of Hartford ArtSpace Gallery

Learn more about MakerspaceCT

VISIT: makerspacect.com
FOLLOW: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
READ: MakerspaceCT Fosters Innovation in Connecticut

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Hartford Startup Restaurant Is The Place 2 Be

June 01 2018 Innovation Destination: Hartford CT Lifestyle 0 comments Tags: Connecticut, CT, entrepreneurship, foodpreneurs, Hartford, how to open a restaurant in CT, The Place 2 Be

Hartford-based startup restaurant The Place 2 Be is known for its over-the-top milkshakes.

The Place 2 Be Co-Owner Gina Luari told Innovation Destination Hartford Website Curator Nan Price about her experience as a woman entrepreneur and her efforts to make her startup restaurant the place to be in Hartford.

NAN PRICE: Have you always had an entrepreneurial drive?

GINA LUARI: My parents are both entrepreneurs. They own a diner, so I grew up in the restaurant industry. I love people. I can’t imagine myself working in a space where I couldn’t interact with them. That’s what really pushed me into entrepreneurship.

I couldn’t really fathom being at a desk and not creating in the sense of seeing people’s reactions. When I create a dish or change something on our menu, I can immediately see customers’ reactions—whether they like it, or they sent it back to the kitchen because they want to change something about it. I love that process and I think working in corporate America kind of takes away from that, because your consumer is not right in front of you.

NAN: Tell us about the evolution of The Place 2 Be.

GINA: The Place To Be Restaurant had been closed. I remember driving by when I lived in Hartford and thinking: This would be a great place. I felt like there was nowhere to go for breakfast or brunch in Hartford. Everything downtown was closed on the weekends.

And nothing was really suiting the demographic coming downtown. a lot of young professionals are moving into apartments in Hartford and there’s nothing catered to them specifically. Also, I thought about this community. So many people live in a square block and there wasn’t any place to go for breakfast.

My parents and I bought the restaurant and completely redid it. Our grand opening was April 15, 2016.

We came up with a different concept and thought about renaming the restaurant. But, during the construction process, I kept referring to it as “the place to be,” because that was the location. And then, as we got closer to opening, it kind of clicked: What I’m trying to do for the space and Hartford in general is to create a place to be and convince people that Hartford is a destination and a place for them to come eat. The name kind of fit, we just updated it to make more of a statement.

NAN: What do you think differentiates the restaurant and makes it innovative?

GINA: I always felt diner food was for everyone. It’s the most diverse kind of cuisine. I took inspiration from diner-type menus and reinvented the recipes to made them more modern.

I think we’ve really reinvented the diner scene. We’re a place for everyone. Our clientele is so diverse. That’s what you find in diners and what makes them so popular. So, I think that was the innovative aspect of it. We wanted to create a place where you feel comfortable whether you’re a teenager, you’re retired, you’re enjoying a birthday brunch, or you’re celebrating a milestone event. Everyone is here.

The diversity of the crowd is amazing. And for it to be in Hartford is even more amazing.

NAN: Why Hartford?

GINA: I’m an idealist! I think Hartford has so much potential—and so many people are striving for it. You don’t find that kind of energy everywhere. There’s so much passion in Hartford and there’s so much diversity. In one mile you can find 10 different cuisines, 10 different churches, 10 different community centers.

I want to shine a light on Hartford. That’s really why I chose this location on Franklin Avenue. I kind of want to bring back its glory and celebrate what it is.

NAN: How has your background shaped your entrepreneurial journey?

GINA: I majored in business at Central Connecticut State University. I had an encouraging professor, Drew Harris, who is passionate about entrepreneurship and did a lot with the entrepreneurship program.

We collaborated with different colleges and worked with teams to develop business ideas. We learned about funding, developed business plans, pitched our businesses, and used the techniques we had learned to see if our business concept was feasible. That really put a fire under me for entrepreneurship.

NAN: Do you feel like your business major has helped you?

GINA: I do. Especially my Organizational Theory class. Had I not taken that class and read Who Says Elephants Can’t Dance by Louis Gerstner, I don’t think I would be a successful entrepreneur.

That class really changed my perspective from your business being about your product to it being about your system. You can have the right menu, but without the right system your restaurant won’t work. You might be successful for a year or two, but you’ll be a trend. You won’t be something that’s going to sustain itself for decades through changing environments and trends.

If you don’t have a system in place, if you don’t create a culture and make sure people are following that culture, your business will be useless no matter how great your product is. Because you cannot predict the outcome. You cannot predict how you come across. You cannot keep up. You need people who are buying into your vision, otherwise you’re not going to get anywhere. It’s like rowing a boat in circles.

Prior to opening this restaurant, I worked for the Rocky Hill Chamber of Commerce. I learned about the different tools you can use to be more than a business. I don’t think a lot of businesses take advantage of them. I certainly did when we opened. For example, you can have a ribbon-cutting, which cost nothing. It helps people recognize your presence and that you care about being a business in the community.

Also, I met so many great people when I was working at the Rocky Hill Chamber, including Rich Brown, Vice President of Investor Relations at the MetroHartford Alliance. I went different seminars and connected with the Department of Economic Development Economic Development (DECD), which has many different programs and incentives.

With small business you can feel helpless, like you’re going it alone. It was helpful to see the DECD devoting time to helping small businesses be successful and making sure businesses stay in Connecticut. It gives you hope as a small business owner—for me it gave me a feeling of: Okay, I can do this.

NAN: What does being an entrepreneur mean to you?

GINA: People don’t understand the logistics that go into business ownership. It’s things you don’t even think about, things entrepreneurs endure while people are constantly telling them their idea is not going to work. Pulling through that and becoming successful is the most incredible feeling. Being able to push through every “no,” and push through the doubts and failures and still be there.

NAN: Aside from funding, what kinds of challenges have you faced as a startup?

GINA: One of the most difficult things is staffing—finding people to work for your business who have the same vision and work well with a team. It’s a cultural thing. Your employees are the face of your business. One person can really throw it all off. You can’t control peoples’ interactions with customers. That’s something I’ve to learn as an entrepreneur, how to find the right people and grow with them.

Many businesses struggle with time management. I found it with myself too. Even knowing those resources are out there, getting to them can be difficult because you’re on a time crunch. It’s hard to figure out what to do first.

NAN: How do you deal with that challenge?

GINA: I try to break it down and figure out what’s going to be the most detrimental if I don’t do it. In business, everything matters. If you don’t do inventory you lose there. If you don’t get funding you lose there.

Competition is another challenge. The restaurant industry is always changing. You can’t patent a dish. You have to be innovative. You have to differentiate yourself. You have to make people want to come to your restaurant as opposed to someone else’s.

That’s really difficult because you have to constantly keep on top of your social media. That wasn’t even a thing in the restaurant industry until recently. Now you have to great at marketing. And on top of that, you have the best food and the best service. You have to be great at human resources. You have to be great at product development.

NAN: Entrepreneurs wear a lot of hats. That ties into the challenge of time management.

GINA: Right. For me, I focus on everything other than the cooking—developing the menu, marketing, human resources, payroll. My mom is actively here. That’s how we’ve been able to partner. She’s been here managing, and I have chefs, but I do everything outside of that. To be one person doing all those things is difficult because you cannot be everywhere at the same time.

It goes back to the challenge of hiring the right people. Trying to put together a team that will help you maintain all those aspects of having a successful and good place. That’s the most important thing, I want this restaurant to be really good. But without the right team, that’s borderline impossible.

NAN: How do you remain innovative so you can remain “The Place To Be?”

GINA: I think it’s really listening to our customers. I take everything to heart. Attention to detail is key in success. So, I’m religious when it comes to our Instagram posts. I read all the comments and take them into consideration. I say: How can I do this better? How I make sure I never have that comment again? Really, it’s: How do I get people to say what I want them to say, post what I want them to post, and get across what I want them to get across to whoever is seeing their posts?

I’m a big believer of checking out what’s around you—seeing what everyone else is doing better, what’s working for them, why it’s worked for them, and how it can be applied to us. Again, I think just caring about your customer really helps you stay in the game. It won’t guarantee success, but it will help.

What we learned in marketing day one: Know your demographic. Your customer is everything. Then have focus groups. For us, Instagram is our focus group Our customers’ reviews are our focus group.

NAN: What’s next?

GINA: I am opening a rustic pizza bar called The Pie Factory. My goal is to have 100 varieties of toppings. The plan is to open in June.

Learn more about The Place 2 Be

VISIT: www.place2bect.com
FOLLOW: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

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Hartford-Based Hog River Brewing Shares Updates About the Startup

May 23 2018 Innovation Destination: Hartford CT Lifestyle 0 comments Tags: beer, brewery, Connecticut, craft brewery, CT, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, Hartford, Hartford CT, Hog River Brewing, Parkville, startup, startup brewery, startup success

Hog River Brewing Company Founder and Owner Ben Braddock and his wife Joy look forward to opening their brewery in Hartford’s Parkville neighborhood in spring 2016.

Innovation Destination Hartford spoke with Ben Braddock, Founder and Owner of Hog River Brewing Company in December 2015, before the brewery opened. Since then, Hog River has become a local destination for craft beer and entertainment.

IDH recently checked in with Ben to find out what’s new.

BEN BRADDOCK: Since opening August 20, 2016 we have been moving forward with a full head of steam. From a production standpoint, we’ve more than doubled our brewing capacity while keeping more than 90% of our sales in house. We’ve been inching closer to distribution, which should become more of a reality as we increase our capacity.

As a business, my wife, Joy left Cigna to join our team on a full-time basis. We also hired a taproom manager and recently added another brewer to our staff to expand our product portfolio.

IDH: Have you experienced any major pivots since we featured your story?

BEN: I can't say we’ve had any major pivots. We’ve stayed on track and even exceeded our own expectations. For the first two years, we’ve been busy trying to keep up with demand, which we see as a huge success.

We started Hog River brewing very traditional beers and, while tradition is important to us, we have found that we need to continue to evolve to stay relevant in an extremely competitive industry.

Going forward, we’ll continue to brew traditional beer styles while incorporating some really neat and innovative projects. We have a lot on the horizon and we look forward to sharing new products with our customers.

IDH: Have you been involved with any startup resources in the region?

BEN: We worked with SCORE in the beginning. We had a wonderful group of people who helped us secure financing. They were a tremendous resource to have on our side.

IDH: It seems obvious, but how are you building a customer base?

BEN: We’ve been fortunate to build our business on word of mouth and strategic partnerships. We are a boutique brewery that relies on people spreading the word.

Sometimes it amazes me that we are where we are given the challenges we face as an urban brewery. We have a lot working against us, but we get people here to Parkville to drink great beer while enjoying food trucks or participating in the great events that take place in our neighborhood including our Twang Thursday music series or the KNOW GOOD Market.

Parkville has a ton of talent and we are happy to partner with many of the small businesses in the neighborhood including IdleWilde Printing, Parkville Sounds, and Breakfast Lunch & Dinner.

IDH: Where do you see the entrepreneurial landscape heading?

BEN: To be successful, entrepreneurs need to take the bull by the horns and blaze their own path. This is what we see every day in Parkville. Creative minds are challenging the old ways of doing things and creating new opportunities. I firmly believe that entrepreneurship and small businesses make a difference. Entrepreneurs have drive and passion with so much riding on the line. These are the people who can make change.

IDH: Tell us about the importance of encouraging entrepreneurship in Connecticut.

BEN: Creating change and challenging what’s “normal” is extremely important to the evolution of society. Entrepreneurs with an endless need to succeed can make a difference in so many ways.

IDH: Aside from funding, what do you need most to move your company forward?

The October Hartford Entrepreneur Hangout event at Hog River Brewing Company was well attended.

BEN: We need more people to support small business in Hartford. There’s a huge network of motivated people trying to make a difference in Hartford. We need more people to give the city a chance by pushing their comfort zone while trying something new.

Small businesses are the heartbeat of this city and people will never hear of them unless they make an effort. We ask that people come experience what is going on for themselves and make up their own mind about what Hartford really is. I think people will be surprised in what they find. This is alone will help create a vibrant city culture and successful small businesses.

IDH: What’s next?

BEN: We’ve outgrown our production space and we’re looking to take over more space in 1429 Park Street to expand our product portfolio. In the upcoming months, we’ll be adding a sour program as well as a barrel aging program.

Beyond that, we have ton of innovative ideas that will challenge people’s perception about craft beer. We are also investing in our Twang Thursday music series presented by Wise Old Moon frontman Connor Millican. This unique music series attracts artists from all over New England and we hope to establish Hog River as a premiere music venue in Hartford for original artists.

Find out more about Hog River Brewing Company

READ: Entrepreneur Brewer: Hog River Brewing Company
VISIT: hogriverbrewing.com
FOLLOW: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

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Entrepreneur Helps Launch Fine Dining Bistro in Manchester, CT

May 11 2018 Innovation Destination: Hartford CT Lifestyle 0 comments Tags: Bistro on Main, business growth, Connecticut, CT, dining, entrepreneurs, foodpreneurs, how to open a restaurant in CT, Manchester, social enterprise, social enterprise restaurant

Bistro on Main General Manager Ben Dubow.

Bistro on Main General Manager Ben Dubow spoke with Innovation Destination Hartford Website Curator Nan Price about his experience opening a fine dining bistro and the importance having a social enterprise component in your business.

NAN PRICE: You’ve held many roles in your career—chef, pastor, business partner, entrepreneur. How have your experiences helped shaped you? What have you learned along your journey?

BEN DUBOW: This is my second experience opening a restaurant. I was the executive chef and part of the opening team at Blue Plate Kitchen in West Hartford, and I’m still a partner there.

In addition to restaurants, I’ve started churches and other for-profit businesses. So, I’m an entrepreneur at heart.

I feel like startups, even from industry to industry, have a lot in common. Startups are always crazy. So, I knew we needed to be super organized. We created a three-month, 40-page playbook that detailed where we were going to be and when down to their electricity set up, vendors, computer installation, bathroom fixtures, and so on.

The other piece is knowing you always need more capital than you think you do. I feel like most entrepreneurs get themselves in trouble because they’re undercapitalized. We were realistic and conservative with our business plan and our performa. I didn’t want to oversell what I thought we could do. We tended to overestimate what we thought things were going to cost.

To me, the surprises so far have been all positive. We’re further along than I would’ve anticipated. Our staff team is in a better place than I would’ve thought. We’re beating our performa pretty much every week. I was expecting it to be a lot harder.

NAN: How did you become involved with the opening of Bistro on Main?

BEN: Bistro on Main is wholly owned by the Manchester Area Conference of Churches (MACC) Charities, a nonprofit which has been in the community for more than 45 years meeting people’s’ basic needs—food, shelter, clothing, advocacy. Over the last couple of years, MACC shifted that mission more toward breaking cycles of poverty.

When I left a Blue Plate Kitchen three years ago, I went to MACC full-time, running the food areas—the soup kitchen, overseeing the pantry. We did a lot of transformation. We have a farm-to-table soup kitchen now that serves everything from scratch, family style. It’s good, wholesome food.

We also started an 18-week culinary jobs training program. Because we realized to break cycles of poverty, it would help to train people, not just provide them with food. But, we should’ve realized from the get-go that, without real-life experience, the transition from a lab-based kind of program to a job wouldn’t be easy. So, we started a full-service catering company to give people an internship type of experience.

NAN: Is that when you came up with the idea of opening a restaurant?

BEN: Yes. We started catering, which was easy because we already had a kitchen. And then you’re working offsite in other peoples’ facilities. It was a relatively low startup cost and it was really successful.

Bistro on Main is located at 867 Main Street Manchester, CT.

When we started sending people out into the workforce to work in restaurants, we realized you just can’t replicate the experience of working a busy Saturday night on the line. It’s not the same as being in a classroom setting or even at a catered event. That was when we started talking about what a restaurant concept would look like.

So, the idea to open Bistro on Main wasn’t driven as much by my personal need to start something as a mission goal. It was one of those cases where we looked at our mission and it made sense for us to open a restaurant.

We looked into the ideas of food trucks and cafés. We were encouraged to look at some grants from the town and this space on Main Street in Manchester was available. The location made sense. It’s supporting not just the social development in Manchester, but economic development. We ended up not getting a grant. But, in that process, the board bought in and we decided this was the right time for us to take a risk and move forward.

That was May of last year and then we opened about six months later. It was a pretty quick turnaround.

NAN: Tell us about the social mission aspect of the restaurant. How is creating economic growth?

BEN: We are explicitly a social enterprise. I believe all businesses should have a social mission, even if they’re not explicitly social enterprises. I don’t think that has to be so unique to a business. As business owners, entrepreneurs, and restaurateurs, we have a social responsibility to our community. When the community does well, we do well and vice versa.

That said, I think every restaurant needs to have a social conscience, be involved in the community, and think about what it means to invest locally.

For us, this restaurant comes out of our mission of mobilizing our community to break cycles of poverty. This restaurant becomes a training site to help people become job-ready. So, it provides transitional employment for folks to be able to develop the skills to go out and work elsewhere.

NAN: Aside from the social enterprise mission, what makes this restaurant innovative?

BEN: Going into this, we knew to be successful we had to figure out a way to be a standalone, destination restaurant that also was doing good in the community. It couldn’t just be a charitable thing, or people would come twice to support the community and they wouldn’t keep coming.

Ultimately, to succeed and to provide employees with a legitimate, resume-worthy skillset, we had to be a really good restaurant. A lot of times social enterprise restaurant models are social first, enterprise second. We knew we had to get that mix right to make it a sustainable business with really good food that was also training people.

We’ve also embraced a no-tipping concept. It makes sense for us and it’s also innovative. For a lot of the folks working with us, this is the first time they’ve ever had a “real” job, so we knew having them walk away with handfuls of cash at the end of the night wasn’t going to be helpful. They needed to learn how to do things like open a checking account, budget, and saving money for a deposit on an apartment.

With a non-tipping concept, our employees can earn predictable money and we can pay the back of the house the same as the front of the house. We pay just about everybody $15 an hour. It’s worked out well—and there have been some positives I didn’t even anticipate. It’s a much better work environment. There’s less tension over who gets which tables and sections. We’ve eliminated all of that.

Another thing that’s made us innovative is we try to leverage technology a lot. We’re short on management staff by design and money, but we’ve made up for that with technology, which works behind the scenes. Customers never see it, but from an entrepreneurial perspective, I think it’s interesting.

We’re using an excellent point of sale (POS) system, which cost a lot of money upfront, but saves us hours because of the data it provides. We use an online system for our inventory and our invoices, so they are automatically being processed and again, save hours. Our managers aren’t stuck in an office, instead we’re on the floor working with guests and our staff.

NAN: Speaking of staff, how many employees do you have?

BEN: There are three full-time managers, including me. And then our hourly staff runs from 25 to 30. They’re all part-time, which is by design. We didn’t want this to become a place people wanted to camp out, because it’s transitional employment. So, it’s explicitly part time. People who come through our program can only be here for a year. Again, the idea is this is for them to build experience, build their resume, and launch their career.

NAN: And how are you finding employees?

BEN: Some of them come through our program, which is so far focused on back of the house training. We’re starting a front of the house training program, so we’ll get more out of there. And we advertise locally. Our commitment was to hire as locally as possible.

NAN: Any advice for other business owners?

BEN: Be well capitalized. Assume you need more money than you think. You have to build into your model the capacity to break even for the first six to 12 months, or you’re going to get yourself in trouble.

Everyone’s got to figure out their own business model. I feel like a lot of restaurants spend a ton of money on style, without giving themselves the basic infrastructure, and then they don’t have the cash to sustain. We went pretty minimal. We painted and hung some posters. We could have gutted and renovated, but that would have cost a lot. I think you have to be realistic, and it’s a process of getting where you want to be.

Also, the technology piece I mentioned earlier. It may be easier not to spend a lot of money on a good POS but being appropriately set up and giving yourself the infrastructure also sets you up for success. I don’t think technology is the place to cut and save money.

NAN: What does being an entrepreneur mean to you?

BEN: For me it’s the thrill of the start and building things. And I think innovation is always a part of that because of the drive to want to start and build things that are new and different.

As a pastor, my passion has always been starting new churches. It can be easier to work for another church or get a job working for a restaurant, but why when I can start something?

A lot of entrepreneurs frankly get bored after that. That’s the downside. Two years in, some are looking for the next project. Like Bear’s Smokehouse BBQ owners Jamie and Cheryl McDonald, they keep opening new restaurants and new concepts. That’s a beautiful thing. If you get stuck in a single-unit concept, then it’s a little harder.

NAN: Were you able to talk other restaurant owners about their startup experience?

BEN: The industry in general is so supportive. In Greater Hartford there’s a lot of collaboration among restauranteurs and chefs. We’ve received mentoring and help and advice. We spent a lot of time talking to folks at Billings Forge, who gave us a good business model: We go to Firebox because it’s a really good restaurant.

I also connected with Jamie and Cheryl McDonald to talk through our idea and pick their brains. I also got feedback from City Steam Brewery owners Jay DuMond and Lisa Cole. We reviewed menus and business plan concepts.

NAN: The Bistro on Main menu appears to be a fancy, upscale bistro. That was obviously intentional.

BEN: Yes. When we signed the closing, we didn’t have a concept. A few of things were important to us: We didn’t want to compete with other existing businesses on Main Street. We didn’t want to repeat a concept. And we also wanted something that would teach transferable skills.

There wasn’t really casual French east of the river. We thought: What better in terms of transferable skills than teaching French cooking? You learn how to do that, and you can work in any restaurant in any kitchen.

We could’ve done the same menu but with no French on it. Ultimately, we decided to embrace it. It’s really kind of defined and I think elevates who we are.

The other thing that was important to me is was for future employers to know our restaurant is a legitimate, real restaurant. So, we didn’t want to call it something like “Second Chance Café.”

NAN: Exactly. People can go to Bistro on Main because they’re doing good and eating well.

BEN: Right, which is by the way, our motto: Eat good, do good.

The other amazing thing is I wanted to mention—we received donations from Max Downtown and Burton’s Grill when they did renovations. It’s been great how people haven’t seen us as competitors and they get what we’re doing. Obviously, we’re all competing for dollars, but we’re all trying to make the pie bigger or trying to divide up a small pie differently.

If Main Street Manchester can become a food destination in a way West Hartford Center or Middletown can be, then everybody wins. That’s how it works. When a business succeeds, it benefits the community.

Learn more about Bistro on Main

VIST: www.bistro-on-main.com
FOLLOW: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

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Connecticut Valley Brewing Company

April 30 2018 Innovation Destination: Hartford CT Lifestyle 0 comments Tags: beer, breweries, Connecticut, Connecticut Valley Brewing Company, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, small business, startup brewery

The Connecticut Valley Brewing Team (left to right): Maxx McNall, Marketing Assistant; James Dodd; Cellerman, Andrew Blakeslee; Cellerman, Steve Palauskas, Owner; Ashley Blanchard, Director of Operations; and Jay Desroches, Head Brewer.

Steve Palauskas, Owner at Connecticut Valley Brewing Company told Innovation Destination Hartford Website Curator Nan Price about his entrepreneurial experience and how the brewery got started.

NAN: Do you have experience launching other startups?

STEVE PALAUSKAS: I started a service company in the early- to mid-90s. It was fun to start a business, take the risk, and see what you could do with it. I still have that business. It’s productive—45 people work for me there. I like to employ people. I like the challenges.

NAN: Why open a brewery?

STEVE: I’ve always enjoyed manufacturing. And I’ve always enjoyed beer and the process of making it. I started homebrewing years ago. My wife Lori encouraged me to start a brewery years ago. We just couldn’t open at the time because the other business really got going and was building at a fast pace. When that business was self-sustaining, she said: Why don’t you do it now? That was about four years ago.

At that time, the market for craft beer was really evolving. It was the perfect time to open a brewery in this area in South Windsor. It’s a prime business town. There’s a good demographic in the area. When we started looking for property the town presented this property to me. I thought it would be perfect for a brewery.

NAN: It’s a huge space.

STEVE: That was purposeful, so we could grow into it and easily add on, rather than having a brewery that was much smaller. If we grew we’d have to move and dismantle everything. This is much better. And like I said, I like challenges. The challenge here was to put up a building and make it work.

NAN: So, this was all built from scratch?

Connecticut Valley Brewing Company in South Windsor, CT.

STEVE: Yes. I built this. I started October 2016. We finished building it last July and then we opened the taproom in October. It took about a year and a half to get everything together. We collaborated with designers and architects and went from there. So, it’s brand new, purpose-built as a brewery. We have plenty of space to do events and plenty of space to brew.

NAN: How do you know when your beer is marketable?

STEVE: Of course, people will tell you your beer is good. But you don’t know if it’s really true or not. It’s great to have a friend say they love your beer, but they’re my friend, so they’re going to tell me what I want to hear.

At one point, everyone was filling my head with ideas and telling me the beer was good. But the idea wasn’t really validated until we started contract brewing at another brewery in the state. When we started doing that people did not know who were and they were commenting about how good the beer was. That was about two years before we started on this building.

So, I was contract brewing and things were going very well. We put our beer out there and we could see the demand was high and people liked the New England-style of beer. At that point, I was already in deep with United Bank, trying to figure out how to get the money together to build the building. When they saw the product was viable and the market was growing the bank got behind the project and really pushed it.

NAN: How has your prior startup experience helped with this venture as far as developing a business plan and hiring people?

STEVE: It’s not jumping into a pool not knowing what’s happening. It’s manufacturing, and it doesn’t matter what I’m manufacturing. If you provide a good product, people are going to come back time and again.

NAN: I’ve heard there’s a good sense of camaraderie amongst the Connecticut breweries.

STEVE: Local breweries definitely help each other out. If we have an issue, we’ll call Broad Brook Brewing Company or Willimantic Brewing Company and ask questions or ask for supplies. Everyone works together. It’s a good environment.

NAN: You’ve been a business owner for some time now Tell us something we don’t know about what it’s really like to be an entrepreneur.

STEVE: It’s super stressful. You go from having it to being broke. People think you’re loaded. But you get paid and then everything is gone again. It’s just the normal stress factor of managing money, time, and resources.

NAN: How do you find balance in that? Or how do you learn to go with it?

STEVE: You get calloused. There’s nothing you can do about it. You get paid when you get paid. It just takes a different person to own and operate a business. I can’t sit in a cubicle. I’d rather have the stress and the challenges of doing this. And it’s fun to employ people. You find people you want to work with.

NAN: That’s a good tip. Any other advice?

STEVE: You find people who think they know what they’re doing, and you mold them to what you want them to do. That’s the thing, they have to be wanting and able to do a job. I’ve hired thousands of people throughout the years, so I know by seeing a person that this person would be good for that position. Even though they don’t think they are, I can mold them into that direction. You give them the opportunity to screw up, correct them, and then you make them work where they need to be.

NAN: Many breweries have been popping up throughout Connecticut. What differentiates yours?

STEVE: All breweries start at a location and they support that community and that area. That’s kind of what we’re doing here. We’re supporting this community in South Windsor.

NAN: How are you marketing?

STEVE: Social media is huge for us, it’s great with the younger crowd, but we’re looking into news print too. We also rely on word of mouth. Untapped brings us a lot of customers, too.

NAN: Where do you distribute your beer?

STEVE: We distribute throughout all of Connecticut. And we’re expanding into Massachusetts and other areas. In the future we plan to just keep pushing out to the market—of course making sure the beers are good, so people enjoy them. We’re also changing with the trends and pushing out to different market areas that will accept it.

Find out more abut Connecticut Valley Brewing Company

VISIT: ctvalleybrewing.com
FOLLOW: Facebook | Instagram | Untapped | Twitter

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Hartford Flavor Company Founders Share Updates

April 06 2018 Innovation Destination: Hartford CT Lifestyle 0 comments Tags: Connecticut, CT, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, Hartford, Hartford CT, Hartford Flavor Company, startup, startup success

Where Are They Now? Follow Up with Hartford Flavor Company Co-Founders Lelaneia and Tom Dubay

Innovation Destination Hartford spoke with Hartford Flavor Company Creatrix & Infusionary Lelaneia Dubay in November 2015. Since then the startup has been on an upward trajectory with growth and success. One thing has remained certain: The company has remained committed to making a name in Hartford. IDH recently checked in with Hartford Flavor for an update.

Hartford Flavor Company co-founders Lelaneia and Tom Dubay.

INNOVATION DESTINATION HARTFORD: What’s new?

HARTFORD FLAVOR COMPANY: We have seen further growth in our Wild Moon Liqueurs product within restaurants and retail stores across Connecticut and the other states where we are distributed (also Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, Florida, and California) as well as in our tasting room here in Hartford.

Wild Moon has won awards at international spirits competitions and is receiving more and more industry recognition.

Hartford Flavor Company Chief Executive Officer Tom envisioned and is President of the Connecticut Spirits Trail (think wine trail). He’s working to get the word out across the state and across the spirits industry countrywide that Connecticut makes great spirits. The idea is that the Connecticut Spirits Trail will help raise all boats across the state’s distillers.

Within our own growth at Hartford Flavor, we have increased the size of our team in terms of production, tasting room operations, and marketing. We have a relatively small but mighty team that is very knowledgeable and passionate about our mission.

IDH: Have you experienced any major pivots since we featured your story?

We’ve opened larger markets both near and far—Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, Florida, and California. We’re getting ready to launch in Colorado in another month or so with the country’s second-largest distributor, which has operations in more than 20 states. We hope to grow across the nation with them over the next few years.

We’ve been able to focus on sales efforts in our new markets because we have an outstanding new production manager. This enables Lelaneia, as creator of the product, to get out into the trade in our new markets and tell our story.

IDH: Have you been involved with any entrepreneurial organizations of events in the region?

HARTFORD FLAVOR: Tom was on the initial steering committee for the Innovation Places group that submitted an application to the CTNext grant contest for Hartford/East Hartford. Hartford/East Hartford was one of the winning applications and is now in its early stages of implementation. The focal points in the application were InsurTech, medical innovation, and advanced manufacturing. Initial successes are happening—most notably within the InsurTech sector.

We also helped Upward Hartford at its grand opening party at the Stilts Building in May 2017, where we ran the cocktail program. That was quite an event and showed Hartford can certainly put on a great party!

In April 2016, Lelaneia and Tom appeared on the Pulse of the Region, a weekly broadcast by the MetroHartford Alliance. The topic, The Spirit of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, featured Innovation Destination Hartford Website Curator Nan Price and Back East Brewing Company co-founder Tony Karlowicz.

IDH: How are you building a customer base?

HARTFORD FLAVOR: We focus a lot on doing tasting tables at events across the state and in our other states of distribution. We continue to work within the Connecticut community at fundraisers and special events at venues across the entire state and by hosting events in our tasting room/production space.

We put a lot of focus on our tasting room/tours each weekend, where we have public hours on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, and by hosting public and private events in our space. Of course, social media and digital marketing are very important as well.

IDH: Where do you see the entrepreneurial landscape heading?

HARTFORD FLAVOR: We see increasing entrepreneurial activity—both in terms of new startups and startups moving into growth phase and, perhaps more importantly, we see an increase within the public at large acknowledging these trends.

A couple of years ago, there was less startup focus, but with new ventures creating more excitement we are meeting more and more people who are recognizing the trend. It’s heartening to see folks who live outside Hartford acknowledge what is going on now.

IDH: Tell us about the importance of encouraging entrepreneurship and innovation in Connecticut.

HARTFORD FLAVOR: It is extremely important. Connecticut has always been a place where innovation happened (we’ve always been at the top or near the top in patents per capita), whether it was in small companies or within Fortune 500/1000 settings.

Innovation has and continues to be more important than ever to create a healthy economy. The speed of change continues to get faster across most industries, so of course the ability to innovate becomes more important than ever before.

We’ve seen firsthand that innovation alone is great, but it really needs to be accompanied by the ability to effectively tell your company’s or product’s story. Effective storytelling not only helps to increase sales revenue, but it also helps to attract investment needed to grow.

As much as we need innovators, we think storytelling capabilities have to become stronger as well. It would be great if marketing/PR/advertising firms could get involved with entrepreneurs to help storytelling match our innovation capabilities. Innovation Destination Hartford been doing a great job with this!

IDH: Aside from funding, what do you need most to move your company forward?

HARTFORD FLAVOR: We need to get into new states and we have a plan to do so over the next few years. This will make Wild Moon a national brand with the possibility of exporting as well. We think the United Kingdom and Europe will be great markets for us one day. It really all comes down to sales and marketing, so lots of travel is in our future.

When we envisioned our initial business plan, we thought Wild Moon would let us see the majority of the United States and then perhaps other countries—and that now seems more definite than probable.

At some point, we’ll need to expand our production space. So, it seems like it will all come down to time, effort, and money.

IDH: What’s next?

HARTFORD FLAVOR: Our Colorado launch is really important, so we’ll focus a lot on that to show our distribution partner that Wild Moon will be successful across the United States. We’ll grow our sales team in the distant markets and need to run a more far-flung operation. But, at the same time, we will make sure we don’t take our eye of the ball in terms of our home state and our commitment to be an asset to the local community.

Find out more about Harford Flavor Company

READ: Hartford Flavor Company: Hartford’s Own Distillery
VISIT: hartfordflavor.com
FOLLOW: Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Twitter

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Relic Brewing Shares Updates About the Startup

March 29 2018 Innovation Destination: Hartford CT Lifestyle 0 comments Tags: breweries, business growth, Connecticut, CT brewery, entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship, small business, startup

Relic Brewing recently opened a new taproom at its location in Plainville, CT. (Photo courtesy Christine Dangelo)

Innovation Destination Hartford met with Relic Brewing Owner and Head Brewer Mark Sigman in April 2016 (read the interview: Entrepreneur Brewer: Relic Brewing). Since its launch in 2012, Relic has been brewing a variety of craft beers and “keeping pace with the industry,” which, as Mark noted back in 2016, is how to be successful.

Another inroad to success: The brewery recently added a taproom whisky bar where customers can order 0.5-oz or 1-oz pours from more than 800 spirits. Rotating whisky, mezcal, tequila, rum, or gin flights will also be available

“Since August we’ve been accumulating a truly world-class collection of fine and rare spirits to complement our beer, and we’re thrilled to finally get the word out so that people can come and experience this for themselves,” said Mark.

In addition to providing a variety of craft beers, Relic has accumulated a large collection of fine and rare spirits.

“What we’ve created is unlike anything we know of in the country and we truly believe is at the forefront of what’s new in the increasingly popular craft food and beverage scene. Our customers have so far been shocked, delighted, and returning for more—more flavors, more education, and best of all, more fun,” he added.

What makes Relic innovative? According to brewery, it’s the staff’s passion and depth of knowledge. And the fact that customers can experience the tasting in an informal setting. Relic’s innovation is the combination of approachability, affordability, and expertise paired with craft beer, the brewery noted.

Find out more about Relic Brewing

READ: Innovation Destination Hartford interview with Relic Brewing Founder Mark Sigman
VISIT: www.relicbeer.com
FOLLOW: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

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CT Wellness Entrepreneurs

March 20 2018 Innovation Destination: Hartford CT Lifestyle 0 comments Tags: Connecticut, CT, entrepreneurs, Greater Hartford, Hartford, innovation, mindfulness, wellness

Connecticut entrepreneurs have launched a variety of successful wellness businesses to help the community relax, recover, rejuvenate, and reflect.

Felicia Jordan is Founder of Live Like a Lotus, a Hartford-based yoga and life coaching startup.

From yoga to and energy healing to innovative techniques in physical therapy and massage therapy, there are plenty of opportunities to engage local small businesses.

Here, seven entrepreneurs share how they turned their visions into successful Hartford-area businesses.

INTEGRATIVE WELLNESS & PHYSICAL THERAPY

“We’re really trying to be a resource to the community. We’re all in the mindset of: What can we do to help people get better?”
— Ayelet Connell, President

READ: Connecticut Entrepreneur Launches Wellness Center Focused on Community
VISIT: integrativewellnessandpt.com
FOLLOW: Facebook and Twitter @IntWellPT

LIVE LIKE A LOTUS

“I always knew I wanted to do something that inspired others, enabled them to recognize the importance of being mindful, and ultimately helped them become the best versions of themselves.”
— Felicia Jordan, Founder

READ: Hartford-Based Startup Offers Yoga and Life Coaching
VISIT: www.livelikealotus.com
FOLLOW: Facebook and Instagram livelikealotusllc

SOLSTICE STRATEGY PARTNERS

“As much as people attempt to compartmentalize their lives, everything interconnects. You have your life at work, your life at home, and your relationship with yourself. Most people neglect one or two areas. When this happens, you are sub-optimized. Balancing your energy across all three requires awareness and the desire to live life more peacefully and easily.”
— Delanea Davis, Co-Founder

READ: Startup Combines Leadership Skills and Energy Healing
VISIT: www.solsticestrategypartners.com
FOLLOW: Facebook and Twitter @SolsticeSP

VASU TRIBE

“We’re cross-pollinating with like-minded entrepreneurs and small business owners whose businesses are driven by passion and creativity. There’s a lot of cross promotion. We all support each other.”
— Natalie Wheeler, Co-Founder

READ: Women-Owned, Hartford-Based Yoga and Spa
VISIT: vasutribe.com
FOLLOW: Facebook and Instagram vasutribe

CONNECTICUT PHYSICAL THERAPY SPECIALISTS

Connecticut Physical Therapy Specialists Founder David Bostic uses the Redcord tools on a client. “Redcord is a highly innovative approach and one of the tools I used to create my practice,” he explains.

“The Redcord Professional Workstation, which is a suspension-based corrective exercise system…is a highly innovative approach and one of the tools I used to create my practice. It’s just one of many our services that makes us unique and gives us our competitive edge.”
— David Bostic, Founder

READ: Successful Physical Therapy Startup With 3 Locations in Connecticut
VISIT: ctpts.com
FOLLOW: Facebook and Twitter @callmyPT

TEN MINUTE TAI CHI

“Connecticut has a very educated and socially conscious population. The quality of life is high and resources are plentiful. This is a great place to do business.”
— Jeff Steinberg, Co-Founder

READ: Innovative B2B Company Helps Launch Connecticut Startup
VISIT: www.tenminutetaichi.com
FOLLOW: Facebook and Twitter @tenminutetaichi

TAINTED INC.

“We’re forming true collaborations with local gyms, boutique fitness centers, healing centers, and individual artisans who we can bring in to offer a variety of workshops and classes."
— Andrea Cortez, Founder

READ: Tainted Shares Updates About the Startup
VISIT: tntdinc.com
FOLLOW: Facebook and Instagram taintedinc

Stay tuned for an upcoming feature story with Lisa Butler, LMT, RYT, Founder of Wellness Foundations, LLC a Connecticut startup that provides massage therapy, cupping therapy, yoga, and meditation.

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CT Craft Brewery Numbers Are Up

February 28 2018 Innovation Destination: Hartford CT Lifestyle 0 comments Tags: Alvarium Beer Company, beer, breweries, brewery, Connecticut, craft beer, craft breweries, craft brewery, CT, Firefly Hollow Brewing, Greater Hartford, launching a brewery, Relic Brewing, startup

This piece by Angie DeRosa originally appeared in The Bristol Press February 26, 2018.

When Firefly Hollow Brewing Co. opened in October 2013 they were only the second brewery in the central region of the state. Relic Brewing in Plainville opened just the year before.

Mark Sigman is Founder of Relic Brewing in Plainville, CT. (Photo courtesy Innovation Destination Hartford)

At that time there were approximately 12 to 15 breweries that were active in the state from 2012-2013, according to Dana Bourque, headbrewer at Firefly Hollow and president of the Connecticut Brewers Guild.

That soon quickly changed when state legislature amended the liquor laws in 2012 to allow breweries to serve beer on their premises. Prior to the new law, breweries could only give tastings and were required to obtain a liquor license in order to have a taproom.

“After that there was this cascade of breweries that started to open,” Bourque said.

According to 2016 data from the Brewers Association, the craft beer industry in Connecticut contributed $718 million to the economy. In 2016 there were 49 breweries that produced a combined 129,825 barrels of craft beer per year.

Today, there are currently 65 breweries operating throughout the state and another 49 breweries are either in the planning and construction phases or set to open shortly.

Why is craft beer so popular? Bourque thinks it’s quite simple.

“First of all craft beer is tasty. It’s also a lot of fun I think for people to be able to connect to something that is happening locally for them,” he said.

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION

While many craft breweries are located in major travel destinations like Denver, San Diego, Chicago, and Boston, it’s reviving small urban cities and forgotten industrial towns.

The Associated Press in 2013 reported that the arrival of a craft brewery in urban cities were often a telltale sign a neighborhood is changing.

“From New England to the West Coast, new businesses bubbled up around breweries, drawing young people and creating a vibrant community where families could plant roots and small businesses could thrive,” Tali Arbel AP business writer wrote.

This is evident in multiple towns in Connecticut, including most notably, Bridgeport. For a number of years Bridgeport struggled with poverty and crime, even becoming national news when it declared bankruptcy before the turn of the 21^st century.

Within the last several years the city has been able to turn itself around through redevelopment projects and more recently a craft brewery.

Brewport Brewing Co. opened in 2016 in a former newspaper distribution warehouse right off I-95 and is now the second largest brewery in the state—Two Roads Brewery in neighboring Stratford is the largest.

“The more establishments like this that start to pop up around the more it’s going to brighten up (the area),” Bourque said.

Due to the high costs of operating a brewery, brewers often seek inexpensive industrial spaces in close proximity to urban centers and residential districts. Proximity to major highways and routes are other factors breweries take into consideration.

“I think a huge part of it is breweries aren’t in big urban centers that are well developed already because cost of doing business in breweries is already really high so brewers are looking for these tucked away little spots where we can do our thing,” Bourque said.

Alvarium Beer Company co-founders Brian Bugnacki (left), Mike Larson (right), and Chris DeGasero (seated). (Photo courtesy Innovation Destination Hartford)

Alvarium Beer Co. told The Herald in June they chose their location at John Downey Drive in New Britain because it was centrally located near the Berlin Turnpike and Route 9 as well as other breweries in nearby towns Bristol, Rocky Hill, and Middletown.

Skygazer Brewing Co., a new brewery coming soon to 36 Triano Drive in Southington, chose that spot because it is centralized and has easy access from the highway in all directions, according to its websites.

In the book “Untapped: Exploring the Cultural Dimensions of Craft Beer,” Geoff Boeing, a co-author of a chapter, found that many cities have changed zoning codes and offer subsidies to make it easier to establish craft breweries.

In July, Southington Town Council approved a revision to its tax abatement policies to clear up language to enable breweries to take full advantage of coming into town.

New Britain’s Zoning Board of Appeals granted requests for variances and a special exception to four city zoning ordinances last year for Five Churches Brewery coming soon to 193 Arch Street.

INCREASES TOURISM

When looking to establish a new brewery, owners intentionally cluster nearby other breweries, according to a recent study published in The Professional Geographer.

The collaborative environment and artisan nature of the industry creates “brewery districts,” which attracts more foot traffic and visitors who are looking to try a variety of beers.

“You see almost some craft beer pub crawls on a trail,” Bourque said. “There’s this incentive to move and see a lot of different folks.”

In 2015, MarketWatch—a financial information website—ranked Hartford/New Haven as one of 10 cities that love craft beer the most. Other cities included Portland (Oregon), Cleveland and Washington, D.C.

“Since we’ve opened we’ve been getting people from New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and all over the country that come in,” Bourque said.

He said people who grew up in the area, but moved away before the brewery was in business will often stop in when they return home to visit family.

As new breweries are constantly being added in the state, some that have been around for a while are not expanding to keep up with demand.

Last October Two Roads Brewing Company announced it will be opening a second location—Area Two Experimental Brewing—adjacent to their main facility set to open in fall of this year. Earlier this month Stony Creek Brewery of Branford announced it will be opening a fully operational brewpub set to open in the summer at Foxwoods casino.

But it’s not just breweries that are contributing to the craze, more and more bars and restaurants specializing in local brews and beer festivals and gardens are popping up too.

On Friday the New Britain Museum of American Art held its fifth annual “Craft Sippin’ in New Britain” beer festival.

Last year the New Britain Bees stadium held a Beers in the Park event on a warm summer day before a game in August, and the city hosted the third Hops for Hope Beer Festival in September to raise money for the Smith-Magenis Syndrome Research Foundation.

The Hop Knot, a bar specializing in craft beers and pretzels, opened its second location in Southington. Its first location is in Middletown.

COMMUNITY SUPPORT

The craft beer industry is unlike any other industry out there. Rather than competing with one another, local breweries share same goals of wanting to bring people together with delicious beer and improve the state’s economy.

“There are enough beer lovers to go around that we’re not trying to steal customers away from anybody else,” Austin Japs, headbrewer and partner at Five Churches, said.

Already established breweries also work with up and coming breweries to help fuel questions, concerns and anything else they might need.

“(The industry) is more of camaraderie than anything else,” Mike Barillaro, partner at Five Churches said.

As Five Churches was getting off the ground they received help from friends who work at different breweries across the state as well as nearby Alvarium Beer Co. who answered any questions the first-time brewery owners might have had.

“We got a lot of ‘anything you need, just let us know’ kind of thing. Not many other industries have that,” Barillaro said.

It’s not just a community atmosphere for the brewers, but also for the customers.

Breweries offer an endless array of events including live music, yoga classes, paint nights, networking opportunities, beer collaborations and tap takeovers with other breweries, stand-up comedy, game nights, charity fundraisers and more.

People are able to come together to take a break from social media and any stresses of everyday life and are able to experience more than just beer at these breweries.

“I think people are really starting to accept breweries now-a-days as more, in a sense like a community center. It’s a place where people are getting together,” Bourque said.

Learn more about breweries throughout Greater Hartford in the Innovation Destination Hartford article:
CT Fosters Startup Brewery Scene

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Local Entrepreneurs Discuss Passion, Commitment and Love

February 14 2018 Innovation Destination: Hartford CT Lifestyle 0 comments Tags: A Little Bird Told Me., business owners, Connecticut, CT, entrepreneurs, Greater Hartford, Hartford area, Hartford Baking Company, startups, West Hartford

Love is in the air! West Hartford business owners Katharine Ortiz and Scott Kluger recently announced their engagement. (Photo courtesy Winter Caplanson)

Katharine Ortiz, Founder of A Little Bird Told Me and Scott Kluger, Founder of Hartford Baking Company discovered their love of entrepreneurship—and each other. The West Hartford business owners recently announced their engagement.

Innovation Destination Hartford Website Curator Nan Price met with Scott in March 2016, when he discussed his journey from Wall Street to bread baking. Since then, Hartford Baking Company opened a second location on Farmington Avenue in West Hartford Center.

In the process of meeting Scott, Nan met and interviewed Kat, who was working on growing her company at the time.

Nan caught up with Kat and Scott to discuss the roles passion, commitment, and love play in their entrepreneurial endeavors.

NAN PRICE: How did you two meet?

SCOTT KLUGER: We were introduced by a college friend of mine in August 2015. Kat was just starting her own business and I was looking for someone to do marketing. We started dating soon after we met.

NAN: In terms of your relationship, can you talk about some advantages to both of you being business owners?

KAT: There’s a tremendous amount of encouragement and understanding within our relationship. It’s nice to have a partner who can provide feedback and general support. Like me, Scott also embraces risk and challenge—and he knows what it’s like. He provides a good sounding board.

SCOTT: Right, I’ve gone through all that—the failures, the pivots. My business is further along; Kat’s is in the earlier stages.

I didn’t have a basis of comparison when I was starting out. I had to learn as I went. I told her the first two to four years you may feel like you’re going to quit. For me, it was stressful but an important learning experience. I try and give her that wisdom I gained. I offer a voice of reason.

Also, the flexibility in our relationship is nice. We’re both busy, but we’re also at a stage where we can decide our own hours, which gives us some freedom to “get out of the office” and travel, which we enjoy.

NAN: Entrepreneurs often use the word passion to describe the work they do.

SCOTT: You should be passionate about what you’re doing. Kat and I are both lucky to do something we enjoy. You can do something you love to do and go out of business, so you have to find that balance between doing what you love and doing what your customers want.

KAT: The passion drives you—that’s why you do it. If you don’t have the passion, you’ll get discouraged and may end up quitting.

My business is the first thing I think of when I wake up in the morning and the last thing I think about at night. I dream about it. It’s all-consuming—in the best possible way.

NAN: Let’s talk about commitment. You two are both committed to making a social impact in the community.

KAT: For me, it’s about collaborating and making connections—connecting local charities with restaurants, finding silent auction items, finding notable local people to MC charity events. You can do a lot of little things and make a real impact.

Also, I’m on board of Camp Courant, an organization that provides free summer programs to kids from Hartford. I can directly see the impact I make. Everything is going right back into the community. Kids’ lives are improved by this type of commitment.

SCOTT: Hartford Baking Company has a commitment to creating zero waste. We try not to throw anything away. We’ve been donating bread to homeless shelters for years. We also participated in several successful fundraisers this year to benefit the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and others. It’s easy to empower others to give back—we just donate a portion of the day’s profits to the charity of choice.

KAT: I’ll add, in terms of giving back, we’re planning on announcing his-and-hers charities for our wedding registry.

Entrepreneurs Katharine Ortiz, Founder of A Little Bird Told Me and Scott Kluger, Founder of Hartford Baking Company are committed to making a social impact in the Hartford area. (Photo courtesy Jeffrey Kluger)

NAN: What do you love most about the work you do?

SCOTT: For me, it’s about creativity and being able to showcase things people haven’t seen before, whether it’s a new coffee beverage, baked goods, or other culinary ideas.

KAT: I love that I’m able to help people like Scott get the recognition that they deserve. I work with a lot of Hartford-area restaurants and non-profits, and it can be challenging for them to get press coverage and media attention. I enjoy helping with that coordination.

NAN: Aside from the engagement, what’s new for each of your businesses—and what’s on the horizon?

SCOTT: We’re adding more events, such as Hot Chocolate Month in February at both cafes. We launched our first wine dinner on February 10; those will be ongoing. We’re also going to launch catering from both cafes. In March we plan to begin offering classes—everything from how to bake bread at home to how to use stale bread you already have in your kitchen. And we’ll be celebrating our one-year anniversary at the Farmington Avenue location on March 22.

In the future, we’re looking into possibilities for opening additional locations. And we’re always looking to grow. In 2013, we got a grant from the Department of Economic and Community Development that enabled us to increase our staff. We went from 12 employees to 50.

KAT: Little Bird is growing in all the right ways. We now have a full-time photographer on staff to deal with the sheer demand for photography that keeps us creative and on brand with our clients’ messaging. Being able to create unique and custom content that shouts out on social media at an affordable rate has always been a sweet spot of ours.

We’re continuing our work with the fast-growing digital sector, especially honing in on organic influencer marketing. We’ve been focused on these tactics since day one, and the demand for them has only increased. So, it’s nice to be hitting stride very comfortably with our current product offerings. We are also increasing the niche business line we support from restaurants and fashion retail to the world of B2B marketing. And we are thrilled to be partnered with another local business, Fathom, for content support and experiential marketing.

SCOTT: I’m motivated to think about growth and freedom to continue doing what I know and love. I’m also keeping my options open for the next opportunity on the horizon. Enough is never good enough. There will always be another challenge to overcome, and who knows what businesses I’ll start in the future? It’s quite exciting.

Learn more about Hartford Baking Company

READ: Hartford Baking Company: Entrepreneurial Success In Hartford County
VISIT: hartfordbaking.com
FOLLOW: Facebook New Park and Facebook West Hartford Center, Instagram hartfordbaking, and Twitter @HartfordBaking

Learn more about A Little Bird Told Me

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