Many successful business stories begin with “Me and my buddies were hanging out in the garage one day…” And so does this story. But unlike stories about high-tech giants or mega- box- store retail giants, this story is about BEER! Which makes it infinitely cooler than the others! The Gladstone Brewing Company started out in a garage on Gladstone Avenue in Victoria, British Columbia, on Canada’s west coast. Of course, it wasn’t a brewing company back then. It was more-or- less a few university buddies brewing beverages for their own consumption and saving a few bucks on their student booze budget. A few years passed and university was in the rear-view mirror, but the Wheels started spinning and numbers were thrown around until the equation finally made sense. Business plans were developed over the next couple of years and pennies were socked away until, in 2014, it was finally time to pull the chute and lease some space for a real brewery. As the Gladstone website points out, they leased a heritage building in Courtenay, BC, which operated as the Seale and Thomson mechanics garage and dealership in the 1940s. Drawing inspiration from its roots, the Gladstone Brewing Company opened the doors in 2015, complete with a mechanic-inspired, laid-back tasting room. And if you’ve ever wrenched away on an old Buick, you’ll feel right at home here. The hand- made tap handles are created from vintage mechanics tools, and the room is scattered with carefully curated 1940s oil cans, vintage license plates, hubcaps and toolboxes. Spotlight on Business spoke with co-owner and founder, Daniel Sharratt about the company’s beginnings, their brewing choices, and the whole craft beer scene on Vancouver Island. home brewing was still a going concern. In fact, these would-be brewers were actually getting good at this stuff!
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SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • OCTOBER 2017
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