How did Jane Ferrara help bring Stone Brewing to Richmond? The COO of the city’s Economic and Community Development office says “transformational change” was the key to landing the big brewery.
In our interview with Ferrara, our cover girl for the May 2015 issue of Be Inkandescent magazine, she tells us how she brought Stone Brewing Co to Richmond. The brewery is the 10th largest craft brewer in the United States, generating $185 million in annual sales and employing more than 1,000 people.
- Starting this year, Stone will begin to invest $74 million to construct a production brewery, packaging hall, destination restaurant, gardens, retail store, and administrative offices in Richmond.
- Richmond was selected from among more than 20 states that submitted proposals after Stone’s request for proposals was sent out in January 2014.
- Stone has been listed 10 times on the Inc. 500 | 5000 Fastest Growing Private Companies,
- It was named the “All-Time Top Brewery on Planet Earth” by BeerAdvocate magazine — twice.
- Stone is also the first American craft brewer to independently own and operate facilities in Berlin.
In this episode we learn:
- Why did Stone choose Richmond?
- What were the biggest challenges to bringing Stone home? And how did Ferrara differentiate Richmond from the other 250 cities in 20 states that Stone was considering?
- Who did she pull onto her team? And how did she know whom to listen to?
- What was the community’s response?
- What are some of the biggest lessons learned? And given the option, would she do it all again?
