I really wish I could attend more festivals and events and whatnots, but the reality is that we're dirt poor. Not all the time - this summer was really nice, and back bills got paid off. Most of them anyway. Before I started this project, I was told aplenty not to open a brewery in Oakridge, especially one that brews and serves real ale. I still get asked, on a regular basis, why I don't open a pub in Eugene, or Salem, or (of all places) Portland. Maybe I will someday (any investors out there?), but my answer is always that a) I live here and b) every small town needs a pub.
I was recently alerted to an article in Oregon Business Magazine that neatly describes the situation in which we live. We have a goofy economy, times have changed, and to make a living you have to have a vision, a really thick skull, a willingness to work every day for three years or more, and lots of credit cards. No, scratch that last one. Customers help, too, so I've now shifted my thinking towards waiting for the big snows to fall. There's certainly not much going on now up here.
2 comments:
Ted: I'm glad you started a real ale brewpub, it's a niche that needs filling. For my own selfish reasons I wish you had opened it in Portland -- and in all honesty it was completely daft to open it so far away from any kind of market -- but more power to you. You did it your way, and I hope it all unfolds the way you want it to.
But there IS a market. It's just seasonal.
I've been pondering this for more than a year now, but I think it would be difficult to maintain the character of a local, rural, community public house in an urban locale. This is an ongoing question.
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