Check Out Lyle Estill’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lyle Estill.

Hi Lyle, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
In 2005 we bought an abandoned Cold War campus on the edge of a sleepy little southern town. The barbed wire fence was covered in honeysuckle and poison ivy, and the buildings were frequented by possums. We beat back the dilapidation and built a million gallon per year biodiesel plant–making renewable fuel out of fats oils and greases. That didn’t work. We were about one hundred times too small to play in the fuel business. We lost our shirts trying to make biodiesel.

As our industrial campus was winding down the world’s largest real estate development came to town. Our little town of 5000 was scheduled to be 80,000, and our little project was in the middle of it.

Ben and Becky from Starrlight Mead bought a piece of land from us and built an amazing meadery. I took the helm of the Fair Game Beverage Company, a craft distillery. John and Carmen leased a building and built their dream brewery. Restaurants moved it. When once we loaded 18 wheelers with fuel, I watched customers carrying little bags of bottles to their cars. We had transformed from steel toes to stilettos.

Gone are the 300 gallon per minute pumps. Welcome axe throwing, a Sake bar, a Jamaican restaurant. Hello events. A poorly built stone wall was transformed into a stage for the amphitheatre. Overhead cranes became used for Ariel dancing.

The Plant has become a food, beverage and entertainment destination with an onsite farm providing ingredients to onsite customers, a farmer’s market, a Tree Museum and a native plants nursery. We have an art gallery, a sculpture park, a metalworking workshop and a walking trail.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
We once had a customer tweet, “Hippy compound with potholes big enough to float a boat.” We ripped out the road and installed pervious paving stones. That took a year, but when it was done, we retweeted, “Potholes fixed, hippy problem persists.” Traffic skyrocketed.

Our journey has been characterized by high growth, financial constraints, sleepless nights, and high stakes meetings with Central Permitting. It could not be characterized as “smooth.” The Plant has been created by myself, Tami, and our son Arlo. We are a family affair.

Sometimes it is hard to stay abundant and creative in the face of massive pressure. We are riding some very large waves and in many ways are out of our league. Neighboring developers are unfathomably larger than us–Disney has announced plans to build a town next door.

So far we have managed to find a way around and through the obstacles–sometimes digging underneath. After twenty years at the Plant, we are getting good at solving problems.

Redevelopment of an old property is much more challenging than building from scratch. Regulators have a hard time with things that pre-date their code books. Bankers don’t know how to lend against it especially without comparables. Projects like the Plant are harder to insure. Although Tami, Arlo and I have a seat at the table as “developers,” we are not really that. Re-developers are different from the folks who build new.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I was a studio artist for ten years–making life sized chess sets and other stuff out of scrap metals. I’ve been publishing short stories, poems, newspaper columns, books, blog entries forewords and back jacket blurbs since 1981. I think I am best at seeing the potential in things and places, and I’m good at transferring my enthusiasm to others. I’m very proud of what we have created at the Plant. It might be my vision that sets me apart from others.

What’s next?
in 2025 the Plant was successfully rezoned, allowing for a litany of new uses that I can see developing in the future. I think there will be a larger events presence, overnight accommodation, an arts district, and more interesting retail spaces.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://theplantnc.com
• Instagram: theplantnc
• Facebook: the plant

Image Credits
All images taken by passersby with Lyle’s iPhone…