Support Franchise Legal Fund
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In 2010, after spending nearly two decades in the restaurant and beer business and having the privilege of meeting some of the most amazing people, and experiencing truly exceptional beer, we decided to leave our careers behind and get involved in the craft beer community and business, by opening a brick & mortar retail beer store. We wanted to help small breweries across the globe tell their stories and get their amazing products into the hands of people that were curious about beer, as far as we could reach.
We also are, and always have been, advocates for women in business. We have worked tirelessly to be a voice for minority business owners out there, that may need an ally, a mentor, a consultant, or simply a friend. As lesbian entrepreneurs, we feel an obligation to share our experience with others, but we feel we MUST make ourselves available to assist in any way we can, as we strive to keep making a positive impact on the craft beer industry and small business communities, everywhere.
After our first year and a half as a craft beer retailer and feeling inspired by the passion, diversity and acceptance that we discovered, we decided to create a franchise system, using our small retail operation as a model. We did this with the hope of spreading our knowledge, education and love of amazing beer, across our country. At the time, it seemed like the very best way to grow a segment of the industry that had been desperately lacking in the beer world – a bottle shop retailer, that dealt primarily in selling the very best beer.
In our first couple of years as a franchise, we successfully signed and opened more than a dozen other Craft Beer Cellar locations across the country. We found ourselves delighted and overwhelmed by the amount of attention and interest we received from people looking to join our franchise company. And to think, this was all inspired by the warm reception we received for our little passion project in Belmont, MA.
Like many small businesses, we have experienced our fair share of hiccups and growing pains along the way. With such rapid growth in the first few years, backed by, primarily, the work of only the two of us, we made some mistakes, which have cost us dearly. Our work has always been supported by our grassroots mission, often fueled by only our passion and extremely hard work. Still, to this day, there are few that work harder than the two of us. We have to live with the false negative rhetoric out there, that challenges our flawless reputation, impeccable work ethic and extraordinary commitment to the products and industry we love so much, because we just didn’t always get it right. We are honest, good people, who some may just not like, because we are female, because we are married, and therefore lesbian, and because we are true entrepreneurs.
As a result of these growing pains, our once steady growth has been bogged down, as we now have had to divert precious time, energy and resources away from the desire to grow our business. And while we are always up for any challenge, we would be lying if we did not admit that this has hurt our company and our forward progress. And, although at times we’ve encountered challenges to our reputation from those who don’t agree with our philosophy or our lifestyle, we will continue to rise to the challenge as honest, hard-working businesswomen with a mission to provide outstanding beer to our customers across the country.
To continue our mission, we are asking for your help. We would be honored if you'd consider joining our campaign and making a monetary contribution, which would allow us to continue to work tirelessly for the good of the craft beer industry, through our Craft Beer Cellar franchise system.
We know that the decision to invest your hard-earned money is not to be taken lightly, no matter how big or small your contribution may be. We would gratefully use the funds to assist with legal fees, as we continue to protect ourselves, our name, our businesses, and our team. We are looking for and in need of building a legal fund that will provide for our past, present and future legal demands, as a rapidly growing grassroots craft beer franchise system.
We have an excellent team of people and each of us wants nothing more than to show our gratitude for any help you are able to give us. We will continue to work exceptionally hard to do good; to do more, to be better, and, to contribute as much as we can to this community, our stores, and our beer industry. We encourage you to keep up with us in person, as well as on social media. We are going to keep fighting the good fight and keep pushing the needle forward in this industry we love so much. We sincerely hope that this has and will continue to make a difference in your life!
In Love and Respect,
Kate & Suzanne
We also are, and always have been, advocates for women in business. We have worked tirelessly to be a voice for minority business owners out there, that may need an ally, a mentor, a consultant, or simply a friend. As lesbian entrepreneurs, we feel an obligation to share our experience with others, but we feel we MUST make ourselves available to assist in any way we can, as we strive to keep making a positive impact on the craft beer industry and small business communities, everywhere.
After our first year and a half as a craft beer retailer and feeling inspired by the passion, diversity and acceptance that we discovered, we decided to create a franchise system, using our small retail operation as a model. We did this with the hope of spreading our knowledge, education and love of amazing beer, across our country. At the time, it seemed like the very best way to grow a segment of the industry that had been desperately lacking in the beer world – a bottle shop retailer, that dealt primarily in selling the very best beer.
In our first couple of years as a franchise, we successfully signed and opened more than a dozen other Craft Beer Cellar locations across the country. We found ourselves delighted and overwhelmed by the amount of attention and interest we received from people looking to join our franchise company. And to think, this was all inspired by the warm reception we received for our little passion project in Belmont, MA.
Like many small businesses, we have experienced our fair share of hiccups and growing pains along the way. With such rapid growth in the first few years, backed by, primarily, the work of only the two of us, we made some mistakes, which have cost us dearly. Our work has always been supported by our grassroots mission, often fueled by only our passion and extremely hard work. Still, to this day, there are few that work harder than the two of us. We have to live with the false negative rhetoric out there, that challenges our flawless reputation, impeccable work ethic and extraordinary commitment to the products and industry we love so much, because we just didn’t always get it right. We are honest, good people, who some may just not like, because we are female, because we are married, and therefore lesbian, and because we are true entrepreneurs.
As a result of these growing pains, our once steady growth has been bogged down, as we now have had to divert precious time, energy and resources away from the desire to grow our business. And while we are always up for any challenge, we would be lying if we did not admit that this has hurt our company and our forward progress. And, although at times we’ve encountered challenges to our reputation from those who don’t agree with our philosophy or our lifestyle, we will continue to rise to the challenge as honest, hard-working businesswomen with a mission to provide outstanding beer to our customers across the country.
To continue our mission, we are asking for your help. We would be honored if you'd consider joining our campaign and making a monetary contribution, which would allow us to continue to work tirelessly for the good of the craft beer industry, through our Craft Beer Cellar franchise system.
We know that the decision to invest your hard-earned money is not to be taken lightly, no matter how big or small your contribution may be. We would gratefully use the funds to assist with legal fees, as we continue to protect ourselves, our name, our businesses, and our team. We are looking for and in need of building a legal fund that will provide for our past, present and future legal demands, as a rapidly growing grassroots craft beer franchise system.
We have an excellent team of people and each of us wants nothing more than to show our gratitude for any help you are able to give us. We will continue to work exceptionally hard to do good; to do more, to be better, and, to contribute as much as we can to this community, our stores, and our beer industry. We encourage you to keep up with us in person, as well as on social media. We are going to keep fighting the good fight and keep pushing the needle forward in this industry we love so much. We sincerely hope that this has and will continue to make a difference in your life!
In Love and Respect,
Kate & Suzanne
Organizer
Suzanne L Schalow
Organizer
Belmont, MA