When planning and first opening, did you expect for it to grow to its current size today?
- No. I was actually worried that this space and everything about this brewery was TOO BIG. When we first opened, other local breweries were small warehouse type spaces, and what we were working on was so big and bold and felt really empty at first. But we were determined to make everyone feel welcome and comfortable here, and I think we’ve now achieved that and even more. When people walk into the taproom now, we hear a lot of WOWs and the like; it’s overwhelmingly positive, and that’s something I wasn’t sure we could pull off back in the very beginning.
How is the Elation brand different than you originally thought it would be?
- Well, we had the space first, and the name came after, so the way things shook out was an interesting journey. Once we had the space and knew the architectural features, then the name needed to reflect the vibe of the tasting room. We knew we wanted something emotive, and then that one enlightening yoga class happened when ELATION came to me. After that, everything started clicking into place. Now, all of these years later, it has grown into a community centric home for a lot of different people from near and far, and that is even more than we had ever hoped or dreamed. We’re so glad it all actually worked!
How have your goals changed for the future of the company?
- They’ve gotten so much more complicated. We have so many employees, we’ve added the pizza oven and the coffee shop, and our family has grown bigger than we ever projected it would. The primary goal started as just making great beer and food and to build a place for people to hang out and talk to each other. Now, sustainability is a whole new game. We have many employees that have been with us since day one, and have no plans to ever leave. Those that have left either graduated and moved away, or some other life change that took them away, they still feel like a part of the family; we keep in touch and remain connected. We have a big family to take care of now, and that actually extends beyond just who is on our payroll. There are always plenty of customers, but building lasting relationships with regulars has become more than we thought possible. In a sense, our primary goal remains unchanged: to build a community space to celebrate life with everyone around. In the details, it becomes more complicated.
What is your favorite unexpected aspect of what Elation is today?
- Elation has grown into something that really means something to people, people that we wouldn’t have had the pleasure of meeting otherwise. We have people who still come by from time to time to visit us, and after all these years and everything the world has been through, they tell me that they still love this place, that this is their favorite place, or their favorite brewery. They make the effort to come and find me to say hi and catch up, and introduce their friends or family members. Of course we want return customers, but to be reminded again and again that we’ve expanded our family like this, it has just grown into something much more meaningful than we ever could’ve guessed, and we can safely say that we are ELATED!
