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SBA 504 Loan Helps Craft Brewery Create a Cultural Following in Historical Downtown Winter Garden

Mar 2016

Built upon the founders' passion for craft beer, Crooked Can Brewing is an upstart craft brewery built inside the Plant Street Market located in historical downtown Winter Garden. The brewery and market represent a unique image and for area locals creates a cultural following for a way of life.

To bring the owners' vision to life, they worked with Florida First Capital and the Small Business Administration (SBA) 504 Loan Program to secure financing for the $3.4 million project. Loan funds were used for the purchase of the land, demolition of existing structures, site preparation and construction of an 11,702 square-foot brewery and artisan market building.

The end result is a stunning complex where new meets old. With 17-foot ceilings, the interior has the look and feel of market places in the roaring 1920s. Themed as a converted industrial warehouse, exposed steel and masonry structures are complemented with an acid washed concrete floor.

The south end of the complex houses the Crooked Can's craft brewery and taproom featuring 16 drafts, including six flagship brands and a variety of limited edition, seasonal and specialty batches available in rotation.

The brewery itself doesn't offer food, by design. Instead the west side of the complex is based on the concept of an old school artisan market. Vendors provide a variety of food offerings from pizza, wings, burgers and sushi to farm-to-table dining, a juice bar, a tea room, a chocolatier and even a local butcher shop. On the east side of the space are smaller kiosk type retail and merchandise vendors selling hand crafted products.

“This project is a testament to the creativity that entrepreneurs show when bringing their passions to life,” said John Hanrahan, Florida First Capital Vice President and Business Development Officer for Central Florida. “The opportunity to develop this project to its full financial potential really shows the strength of the SBA 504 Loan Program with its low down payment requirement and below-market, long-term fixed interest rates.”

Visit Crooked Can Brewing online at www.crookedcan.com.

For more information about SBA 504 loans in Florida,contact a Florida First Capital Loan Officeror email us atinfo@ffcfc.com. Phone: 850.681.3601 or toll-free at 888.320.5504.