This YouTube video (2017 National Small Business Persons of the Year: Maui Brewing Company) profiles owners Garrett Marrero and Melanie Oxley discussing the founding of Maui Brewing Company to create an authentic Hawaiian craft beer, the barriers they faced, and their growth. The video highlights SBA support (including SBA504 financing), multiple island locations (Kahana Brew Pub, Kihei Brewery, Waikiki and Kailua restaurant locations), current staffing (~400+ employees) with a projection to ~800+ by end of 2018, sustainability goals (aiming for grid independence), and Jane Sawyer’s nomination of the owners for Small Business Person of the Year due to innovation and community commitment.
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So I'm definitely going back to D.C. to represent Hawaii during National Small Business Week. I think it's important that Hawaii have a representative there. And like I said, it'd be my honor to do so. I have dreams of nationals now after having been selected for the state. And I couldn't even really tell you what that would feel like because I think it'd just be such an epic accomplishment. It would be a national honor recognizing the entire team of Maui Brewing. Maui Brewing was founded with a really simple purpose, and that was to create an authentic Hawaiian craft beer. It was really in response to the fact that there weren't any options for anyone either visiting the state or anyone who lived in the state at the time to drink a locally crafted beer. And as a visitor to Hawaii, I saw an opportunity to do that, and Maui Brewing was born.
My husband and I didn't come from rich families, so banks supported us slowly.
So there were a lot of barriers to them being successful in the islands. Everything from changing legislation to changing the way people think.
About four or five years ago now, we were able to go to the SBA through Bank of Hawaii as well, and get some critical loans for our company in order to take the next step, which is this Kihei location.
The SBA loan allowed the Kihei location to become a reality.
It took some doing, but, you know, once they saw our vision and met with us personally tried the beers, and I walked them around our old brewery, I think they could see where we wanted to go with Maui Brewing and they wanted to be a part of it.
So in terms of locations, there's the Kahana Brew Pub, Kihei Brewery, and subsequently there will be a restaurant location here as well. Maui Brewing Company in Waikiki, and there will be another one in Kailua.
Currently we have right around 400, 400 plus employees. And by the end of 2018, we should have probably 800, 800 plus employees.
One of the products that SBA has is called the SBA504 program, and that enables small businesses to purchase commercial real estate for their business operations.
And they helped finance this facility, both building and land, as well as the equipment that went in here. It was one of the largest privately owned projects in the state at the time.
Having that one opportunity and the one door open allowed for Maui Brewing Company to become the size it has and to be dedicated and focused to the sustainability that it has as well.
You know, sustainability is a huge part of what we do here at Maui Brewing and being able to be grid independent in the not Too distant future for us is a significant goal. So that's really exciting to be really at the front of sustainability in craft beer.
Garrett came, he had a vision. Authenticity is really important to him. And what that means is that utilizing local ingredients, utilizing local talent, and really being a part of the community.
So as much as we're growing beverage production, we're also on this side, growing the restaurant aspect. And the reason we love that so much is it gives us that direct connection to the people that are drinking our beer. And we get to talk story with them, get their opinions on what the newest beer was or what we should bring out in a can next, and really have that connection where we can not only learn more about what we do and how it influences the community, but how we can be a better asset to the community.
I nominated Garrett Marrero and Melanie Oxley, the owners of Maui Brewing Company, as the Small Business Person of the Year for Hawaii. Because of their innovativeness, their strong track record, their tremendous growth over the last few years, and the potential for their continued expanded growth, as well as their.
Commitment to the community, winning the state is a great honor. I actually remember the day exactly. I was leaving here from work and I got a call from Jane Sawyer, who's the Hawaii State Director for the sba, and she had given me the news. Still pretty emotional about it. I smile a lot when I think of it. It was a feeling of joy, significant joy, because I had never even thought about it. And it was recognizing us for all the work we've done. And Melanie and I work very hard, but I gotta make sure that, you know that we are supported by a team of over 360 people at this point that make us who we are. And without that, without the support of the sba, without people like Greg Canu and Galen and Jim and everyone at Banco Hawaii, Maui Brewing Co. Would still be a dream of mine as opposed to reality for all to drink.
