James Stegall and Dudley Clarke have a dream that is coming to fruition to set up a successful micro-distillery in the Willamette Valley. That dream took a big step forward when they held a very successful grand opening that attracted over 100 people on Sunday, May 16th to their micro-distillery located in Monroe.
James approached eDev in February and applied for an Small Business Adminstration microloan. The eDev loan committee approved a $10,000 loan to help Hard Times Distillery, LLC with start up funds. James and Dudley have also been contributing start up funds and sweat equity to get their business off the ground.
They found an old feedstore building in Monroe (25 miles north of 
Eugene) to set up their micro-distillery. The two of them have been putting in long hours tearing down walls and putting in new walls for a tasting room as well as installing their micro-distillery equipment. In addition to remodeling the feedstore, James and Dudley have been testing their micro-distillery to produce crafted vodka and whiskey.
While there are over 300 vineyards and over 100 microbreweries in 
the state of Oregon, there are only a handful of micro-distilleries in the state. James hopes to tap into the crafted distillery market place for Oregonians looking for regional vodka and whiskey. Hard Times Distillery has had to pass through a rigorous set of standards from the Federal Alchohol, Tobacco and Firearms agency as well as the Oregon Liquor Control Commission. Plus, there are excise taxes to pay on the production of alcohol.
James and Dudley held their grand opening on Sunday, May 16th that
attracted over 100 people. The grand opening filled up their adjacent parking lot plus had people parking on the main street in Monroe.
The event featured catered food from Bambino's Pizza Place in 
Junction City. Interestingly, eDev helped Bambino's obtain a start up loan to open up their successful pizza business last year. The food included salmon strips, potato salad, fruit, and seafood which was quickly gobbled up by the attendees. James happened to know the owner of Bambino's.
The event also included a blue grass band which kept everybody entertained. 
James and Dudley were kept quite busy during the event. James is shown mixing martinis which were a big hit for the event.
Hard Times Microdistillery will be rolling out their products for sale in the coming months. The company plans to sell their products initially at bars and licensed liquor stores in the lower Willamette Valley area before expanding statewide.
For more information, you can visit their website at www.hardtimesdistillery.com
