Old Copper Road Distillery

[fqu8847]

After having to change the name, struggling to find financing, and walking on egg shells to keep several key individuals happy... "Old Copper Road Distillery" is in the works! We have charmed the local government who has expressed their desire to help us succeed, we have filed paperwork with the state through our lawyer for the company, and have applied for a trademark on the name! So excited!!! The city has notified us of a natural underground spring running under the mountian that was tapped almost 100 years ago. They requested that we use that source for our water when we need it since it would help draw tourists to visit the distillery! They also offered the land around the pipe tap at a ridiculous discount!!! It is way WAY off the beaten path though, so not sure what we're gonna do. I will post updates here as they happen!

[yakattack]

Congrats!

[Still Life]

Wow! In a world of government standing in the way, what good news.
Wish you the best!

[Grappa-Gringo]

Congrats...wish I was closer to visit and toss one back!

[Bushman]

[bitter]

Very nice congratulations!!!

[fqu8847]

Well... we've made it into the local paper! Pretty good write up! Got it posted on our Facebook page named: "Old Copper Road Distillery"... found a deal on some stainless barrels last night. Meeting the guy today to put a down payment on 8, which he has to go get, and to purchase 2. 10 of them for $1200 altogether. Figure that will allow us to store, and proof 50 gallons at a time in each barrel. Pretty excited!

[StillerBoy]

Congratulations, and the best in your new venture..

Mars

[fqu8847]

Met with the planning committee last night. The city ordinances are going to be altered to allow distilleries in c2 zones, which includes both of my prospective properties, paper work is filed with the state for the business, and I am setting up a surveyor to come in and prepare a site plan for the most ikely of the two choices. Slow go, but a go nonetheless!

[LWTCS]

That's great news!

Good luck along the way.

[madspeed]

Love hearing the progression. I can literally feel the excitement as you're posting, keep it up!

[fqu8847]

Thanks y'all! So I have gotten 3 different proposals on 3 different properties, and am close to making a decision. They all will cost about the same amount one way or the other, but they all open different avenues regarding property uses, curb appeal, and visibility. NONE of them are bad, mind you, just different possibilities. 2 of these were in my original envisionments and I have gotten sweet deals on all 3. I have had to postpone the survey due to the increase in potential places. Good lord this is literally a "hurry up and wait" ordeal... kills me.

[LWTCS]

Which building needs the least amount of retrofitting?

[fqu8847]

They all are new builds... we have gotten a purchase price of $90k on 3 acres, and am speaking with our lawyer and bank regarding purchasing. While only 1.25 acres is usable at this time (the other land is covered by a 14ft tall mounta in of dirt) we were thinking we could excavate that dirt and sell it to the state for their bridge they are building not far from us. Total is about 66k tons of dirt, roughly, to be on grade with the rest of the lot. Think it's a fair deal for us.

[fqu8847]

Well we have signed a contract on the 3 acre lot, and are waiting the surveyor to complete their dealings. Will divide the parcel, and get a site plan soon to submit to the planning committee. Also met with a bank to see if we could finance the costs instead of putting it up out of pocket. Seems like we will be under construction soon!

[Oldvine Zin]

Well we have signed a contract on the 3 acre lot, and are waiting the surveyor to complete their dealings. Will divide the parcel, and get a site plan soon to submit to the planning committee. Also met with a bank to see if we could finance the costs instead of putting it up out of pocket. Seems like we will be under construction soon!

OVZ

[hellbilly007]

Congrats man. It always puts a smile on my face to know that a fellow distiller is living the dream of having a legal distillery.

[fqu8847]

We have now submitted 2 different site plans to the city planning committee, and both have been turned down by TDOT. Would be so much easier, and less time consuming, if they would all go over this shit together, before hand. Oh well this last one (3rd time now) seems to be exactly what everyone will want/need. Just wish it wasn't a month before we could submit subsequent revisions to the planning committee. Better get used to the red tape though... after we open I'm sure it will be 10x worse!

[Stargazer14]

I've had this fancy to open a distillery myself, will keep an eye on your posts and FB page! Exciting times.

[OtisT]

Very exciting news. Congratulations! Please keep posting your progress here, as it sounds like it's just going to be a wild ride.
Best of luck to ya.

[fqu8847]

Thanks otis! stargazer, hit me up on fb! would love to chat! I decided to cut the head off the snake, and had a meeting with the road dept. Seems we have conditional approval as of now, and are just about to finish the paperwork for the purchase of our site. 3 yrs in the planning, 8 months in the starting of the business, 6 months in the attempting to purchase the property... let's see what tomorrow holds!

[fqu8847]

Oh man... I have been so disheartened lately. All the wind gone from my sails. The paperwork was not even near completed! *angry yell* we had to reschedule the closing date for June 27th. After rushing for 2 weeks straight to get every final detail on our end done, I get a call the morning of the 26th to tell me that the sellers weren't ready at this time, and we would need ANOTHER EXTENSION! I felt bad for the lady at the title company when I finished my over-the-phone rant, but, in all honesty, that IS their job. They do it for a living to make money, and therefore should know what they are doing. (Also they were realtor recommended) Well ot has been a week or two since then, and we have a rescheduled meeting for August the 4th to close... FINALLY!!! we shall see, though, as I'm not getting my hopes up again.

[rgreen2002]

Don't get disheartened fq.... when the wind leaves your sails it's just an opportunity for you to stop and enjoy the view. You will be full sail again soon, I'm sure.

I remember your first posts (hard to forget a name like fqu8847) and you talking about getting this project going. Keep the post going.... a lot of us are watching and rooting for ya!

While you're waiting, take this time to start perfecting new recipes!

[okie]

I will watch this thread as you progress. Good luck and keep plugging away

[raketemensch]

Damn, you were in hurry up and wait mode back in February...

I can never get excited about a property deal until closing is complete — been burned too many times.

But you’re in the home stretch now, hopefully literally.

[fqu8847]

Thanks for the uplifting posts, y'all! We DID close!!!!! Now I am getting ready to submit my permit applications to the city so we can start ground work. Closed last Friday, and have had all weekend to get the giddiness out of my system so I can focus on actually starting this project!

FINALLY!!!!!

In other news my wife finally got excited and decided the company now needs an instagram page. Hahahahaha!!!
#OldCopperRoadDistillery
#ChillinAndDistillin
#seriously?
(All but the last one are her ideas on what we should hashtag... whatever a hashtag is)

[rgreen2002]

... whatever a hashtag is)

is it like freeze tag.... or TV tag?

Good for you fq...go get 'em!

[fqu8847]

So the latest is we still haven't started! So disheartening, but we have made progress... we have anchor bolt plans, and within another 3 weeks will have foundation plans. Hopefully can have them approved and the foundation in place by December. Would make a great Christmas present for sure! Hahahaha!!!

[Worm_Drippinz]

Good luck!!

[TDick]

Keep A Good Thought.