In the latest installment of Brewbound’s A Round With …, a weekly Q&A series, Moor’s Brewing Company co-founder and CEO Damon Patton shares how his vision for the Chicago brewery has evolved, the biggest challenges the business is facing as it grows, and the company’s plans to expand west.
Here are highlights of our Q&A with Patton. (And if you’d like to participate in A Round With … email us at news@brewbound.com).
How has your vision for what Moor’s would become evolved since you started?
Damon: One of Moor’s Brewing Company’s goals is to be a nationally distributed Black-owned beer brand. I think what has evolved the most for me, as far as vision goes, has been how we will get there.
There have been several different revelations. I used to think a $2 million brewery would be amazing for us, and we could supply 10 markets right from some old system we bought from some defunct brewer. Now, I think we need a state of the art, new construction, minimum $15 million production facility. So … we need to sell a lot more beer.
We are building this plane as we fly it. My education has been interesting to this point, to say the least.
What is the biggest challenge your business is facing right now?
Damon: Like many small co-manufacturing businesses experiencing rapid growth, our biggest challenge is financing the supply of our increased consumer demand. Operating expenses also increase so it’s been a dance to keep up. They keep telling me, this is called “the good problem.”
Moor’s recently signed a big distribution deal with Reyes in your home market of Chicago. How have they helped accelerate your business?
Damon: Major distribution with Chicago Beverage Systems has accelerated not only the supply to our increased demand, but also the Moor’s Brewing Company learning curve, by sharing how they conduct their distribution business with us. As manufacturers, the team and I have learned a ton about the policies and procedures of running the largest beer distributor in Illinois.
Moor’s recently took fourth place on Revolt TVs pitch competition show Bet on Black. How has that appearance helped the brand’s awareness?
Damon: National awareness with Bet on Black was great for us. Not only did sales in our home market increase, our social media followers also increased and became more diverse geographically, coming from all over the country, especially the larger cities.
Moor’s has a contract brewing agreement with Prost Brewing in Colorado for West Coast distribution. How soon will Moor’s expand west?
Damon: The team at Prost have begun brewing our first keg-only collaboration beer and will be debuting that in their Colorado taprooms in March. Moor’s Brewing Company plans to have beer for sale in the Denver and Boulder markets in the second quarter of this year. We plan to expand west from there.
Retired NFL star Warren Sapp is an investor in the company. What opportunities have opened up from that partnership?
Damon: Mr. Warren Carlos Sapp is a first ballot NFL Hall of Famer, a commanding presence, a leader of men and a Day One supporter of Moor’s Brewing Company. He brings everything you would expect of a man of his stature: a no nonsense approach, a desire to see results and a high expectation of accountability. We are fortunate to have him on our team.
There have been many opportunities as a result of his evangelism for Moor’s, most of which I cannot discuss, but can tell you we dedicated a beer to him. We will debut that brew later this year, to commemorate his first ballot status and recent hiring as a coach with the University of Colorado football team.
Moor’s has several civic and community-minded efforts under the Care Moor Foundation for Civic Engagement (CMFCE) banner, including violence prevention, financial literacy and scholarship awards. How has that mission overlapped with the overall business?
Damon: Moor’s Brewing Company’s core principles are community, culture and commerce. Giving back has been in the business model from the beginning, so it has overlapped quite well with our overall business. As our for-profit business grows, our ability to do more for our 501c3 programs does as well. CMFCE will always foster opportunities, support like-minded initiatives and shine light on alternative pathways to success for the underserved youth and young adults of Chicago.
If you could wave a magic wand and fix one troublesome part of your business, what would it be and what would you do?
Damon: Scalability. I would wave that magic wand, be commercially available in the top 10 markets in America, with enough money in the till to market our products at a high level and operate in a manner to open those markets to new beer drinkers and enthusiasts alike.
What’s the best advice you’ve received in your career?
Damon: “If you want to launch a big ship, you have to go where the water is deep.”