Today we’d like to introduce you to Richard Marcello.
Strand Brewing Co (Torrance, CA) began brewing beer in Los Angeles in 2009. At that time there were just under 5 production breweries in all of Los Angeles County. Today the number of breweries is 68 and growing. From very humble beginnings co-founders Joel Elliott (Brewer) and Rich Marcello (Sales & Marketing) began creating and distributing their handcrafted ales throughout L.A. County. For the first 2 years, they were Strands only employees, brewing by night and selling and delivering by day from their original 1,000 square foot facility hidden in the back of a nondescript row of warehouses.
In 2015, the duo (and their now 14 employees) moved to Strand Brewings current 36,000 square foot location where they continue to can, bottle and keg their beers.
The motto “Our Way Grain to Glass” is printed on every label and denotes their dedication to doing all things in-house and their hands-on approach to ownership.
Strands persistence and pioneering spirit will leave an indelible mark on the landscape of the Los Angeles craft brewing scene.
The Strand Tap Room is located at the brewery and is open to the public Tuesday through Sunday.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Incredibly difficult to begin. We were underfunded and were feeling our way through the processes of being one of the only small and independent production facilities in the County.
We had partner troubles early and our team went from 3 to 2 almost immediately after brewing began.
Los Angeles was still considered “a craft beer wasteland” by much of the State and we had to try to convince the bars that we could make a viable beer that would sell, resonate with their guests and had to keep pricing in line to be competitive with those breweries that had years and years of branding and resources that had come before us with in California and other States.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Strand Brewing Co. – what should we know?
Strand Brewing makes tried and true ales. Premium Handcrafted Ales was the tag we added to our logo back in 2009. Now you see Handcrafted being used a lot of ways to mean a lot of things. To us, it has always been about setting the standard for excellence and never resting on “good enough”. As Director of Sale and Marketing it is up to me to get our brand and message of the company across to the people who help sell, pour and eventually the fans that are picking up a 6 pack in their local stores and taking it into their living rooms.
Personally, it has been a 9-year daunting task and a lot of hard work by our team has gone into building that Strand Brewing Brand. At some point early on someone from another brewing company dubbed me “the hardest working person in LA Craft Beer” and that seemed to sum up a lot of the philosophy of Strand. I, humbly and half-jokingly accepted the moniker but truth be told…. Joel Elliott (co-founder and brewery) had it tougher than I did back in those days.
As a company, I’m proud that we set out to change the way Los Angeles County Craft Beer was perceived and change the way people drank within it. I’m proud of the way Strand Brewing has represented itself (and will continue to) with helping other breweries, educating the consumers, bringing good will to the industry and giving back with the numerous charity events we are proud to be a part of throughout the year.
What sets Strand apart? Not sure what other people do? However, I do know that we are a scrappy bunch that is not afraid to roll up our sleeves and get into the trenches. Being the ‘underdog” is a role we are perfectly comfortable in as we continue to fight the good fight for Los Angeles craft beer scene on a daily and nightly basis.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Success is a tough word for me. I’m not really sure how others define it, but I have my own definition and to me, I’m not convinced we are there yet. Maybe we will never be in my mind? I do know that we have wins and losses. I guess we can be proud of the wins. We took a little startup company from under $100,000 gross sales to over $1,00,000,000 in under 4 years (and during a recession). Does that make us a success?
Joel and I are the sole owners of the company with no other shares being issued. That has been hard to do. We aren’t under any other “parent company” or beholden to any other entity or board. Is that success?
At the end of the day, I can’t think of a single moment where either of us has stopped and said the words “Wow, we’ve made it!”
Contact Info:
- Address: 2201 Dominguez St.
Torrance, CA
90501 - Website: www.strandbrewing.com
- Phone: 310-429-4444
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: strandbrewingco
- Facebook: strand brewing co
- Twitter: stand brewing co
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