TESTIMONIAL
Building A New Brewery From the Ground Up: How Lark Brewing Got Ahead From Day One
SERVICE
Numbers Powered Growth
LOCATION
Aldie, VA
Getting a New Brewery Up And Running
When Kat Huff, Director of Operations and Hospitality, was tasked with getting Lark Brewing’s sprawling 7,000 square foot taproom up and running in Aldie, VA last year, she knew the team needed to have all their ducks in a row before officially opening their doors. And although they had extensive experience in the restaurant industry, the brewing world was entirely new to them.
"All of us being new to the brewery world, we had a lot to learn."
With the brewery learning curve and the rest of their pre-opening laundry list, Kat wanted to have accounting and finance dialed in from the start.
"With this type of business, getting information as early as possible is crucial so that we can make adjustments for the next month. That was our main concern coming into it."
The problem was, they needed a firm they felt confident could deliver what they needed without having to micro-manage the setup or waste time teaching them the business. No stranger to doing their homework on vendors, Kat and her team took to Google and found SBS.
"At that point in time, the team at SBS looked like they knew what they were doing—but we didn’t take things at face value. We did our homework, researched what they did, and after speaking with them, it was clear they truly specialized in breweries."
For any team opening a new brewery, until doors are open, budgets are tight and sales are far from guaranteed. Even so, Lark decided to bring on SBS, with the confidence that they’d fill the expertise gap and help them navigate the process.
"They not only handle the accounting piece, but also are the experts at what they do in their industry. You could find another accountant that does restaurants or small businesses, but having a partner that is hyper-focused on what we do...that was the biggest gap for us. That gave us the confidence to bring SBS on from day one."
FROM DOORS OPEN TO SMOOTH SAILING
After partnering with SBS, Kat and the team at Lark made it through opening and their early days of operation, even with a few curveballs thrown in.
"Even though we were delayed in getting open, SBS did a great job. Everything was seamless. They made sure everything was as clean as possible prior to the madness happening. And a lot of the help that they provided was specific to the best practices for the brewing industry. And we were able to lean on Allie, Amanda, and the rest of the team to guide us through all of it."
Since then, they’ve continued to gain momentum and have leaned on the SBS team to provide guidance on their financial performance, benchmarked against their peers and brewing industry best practices.
And beyond the numbers, the team at SBS has been a reliable extension of their team, available as a day-to-day resource to support the brewery, down to the smallest details.
"Like I mentioned before, we’re still learning things every day. I appreciate Amanda working with such patience. I can be extra and pesky with my questions, but she’s always willing to sit down and show me every single last calculation and process. That’s been a huge help."
"Definitely do your homework—but I think you’ll come to the same realization that we did: SBS is the best in the business."
Ready to Explore Whether
Small Batch Standard
Can Help Your Brewery?
Schedule a short exploratory call with the SBS team to learn more about our Numbers Powered Growth service.