The Microbrewery Handbook

Chapter 12The Wonderful World of Permitting and Zoning

BEFORE YOU SKIP this chapter because it sounds un‐fun, beware.

Many people opening breweries have figuratively done what you're about to do. And it has cost them a lot of money. And stress. And time. We have friends in this business who know this all too well.

I'm just glad I paid attention to a few of these things as we opened Perfect Plain.

Shopping for equipment was more fun. Finding a location was more fun. Closing the loan was more fun. But we saved a ton of money by understanding the circumstances, and the path to victory to getting our place opened ahead of time was just as rewarding.

Circumstances are wildly different based on your situation, but one thing you can count on is that you'll be required to deal with permitting, city planning, review boards, licenses, permissions, and polices.

When I speak at college or entrepreneurial courses, one of the most common questions I get is, “What was the biggest mistake you made getting your place open?” It was the keg washer. The damn keg washer.

But I'm proud to say that we were never tripped up in permitting, in planning, and only slightly by the fire marshal. Our secret was being proactive in understanding what was in front of us. We didn't want for someone to stop us; we asked questions. We had meetings with officials.

Here's the key not to miss: First‐time business owners get lulled into this false sense that the government should be telling them things they should ...