Well, we are now in contact with our specialist, and we had to file a variance request, as our brewery will be on residential property. Doesn’t seem to be a big deal though. She did indicate that it will be at least a couple weeks yet before she can really dig into our application.
If you are sitting on your hands waiting for the TTB call your local/state regulatory meet the person you will be dealing with on a day to day. The person on the end of the line is the one who decides how you get your state liscense. Be proactive get to know the state on your side, get a prescreening.
Get the other local municapalities involved. Be Transparent. It will help you in the end. This is my own opinion.
Your milege may vary.
State is being great. No problems there. We are not in a city, and the county has no clue. Which is a good thing. Found out today the TTB woman is on vacation. Her supervisor said all we need is the variance letter and we are golden. Looks like by the end of July…
Now, for product liability insurance.
Well, the state waived their on-site inspection after we emailed them some pictures. So, were done with the state now. Just waiting on the feds, and we had to modify our brewer’s bond, as it’s in the name of the company, but we are a sole proprietorship, so it has to be in the name of the owner, not the company. New bond form sent on Friday…
And we brewed Saturday on the relocated brewery system Some bugs to work out for sure, but, we have beer fermenting, so that’s good. Just my basic session IPA recipe. Gonna have to figure a way to reuse cooling water. We are now on city water supply, not the free water I got at my place.
As a sole proprietor you (as a individual) are fully responsible for your company liabilities.
Are you aware of this?
Yeah, I think you want to set it up as an LLC, even if you are the only person working there.
Have you read through this mic?
http://bls.dor.wa.gov/ownershipstructures.aspx
Oh yea, well aware.
Yeah, we’re an LLC and we keep our money in a corporate trust. If you break the corporate veil (for instance by using corporate money as personal money) then even if you’re set up as an LLC, you can still be held personally liable.
I do not mean to scare you or anything.
Good luck.
Be careful here. Breaking the corporate veil is a legal term set aside for when a judgement or a preceding pierces the veil. Like most legal things, there is a factor test involved that guides a judge into actually deciding whether or not to do it. Using the corporate bank account as your personal bank account is certainly a factor that will be counted against you but I’ve never heard of any case law, at least in my state, where it was the only factor. There are something like 10-12 other factors.
This also really depends on your state. In Illinois for instance, our LLCs are seen as pretty strong and it is very rare for liability to pass through unless the managers were already doing something illegal. But your state may very.
I’m not a lawyer but I’m married to one. And a different lawyer is one our founding partners (and a manager of our LLC). And as alluded to in the other posts, starting an LLC for a business dealing in the alcohol industry is a very good idea.
I didn’t mean to imply that it was the only factor. Using corporate money for personal use is something I see happen a lot, and not a great idea, from a liability standpoint or from an accounting standpoint. When you get taken to court, if you can’t show that you’re a “proper” corporation, you may be held personally liable.
Since you’re dealing with alcohol there’s a chance some zealous neo-Prohibitionist lawyer could sue you for the actions of your customers. In the town I grew up there was a case where a bar owner was sued because he served a guy who drove drunk and killed someone. The bar owner won, but it could’ve gone the other way.
In Illinois, the Dram Shop act is particularly problematic with regards to that scenario.
Yep. Plus I have a degree in accounting, so while what we’re doing may not be the best, it is what it is…
Yeah, those laws are really stupid, unless you also require bar owners to administer BAC tests before serving each round of drinks. If the person ordering the drinks can’t use sound judgment, how can the bartender be expected to have sounder judgment without any objective criteria?
Personally, I think every car should have a mandatory breathalizer built in, but I think that’d be a hard sell for all the people who like driving while drunk.