Crowns & Hops Brewing Co. is getting its own facility — and the Inglewood, California-based craft brewing company is asking drinkers if they want to be a part of it.
Crowns & Hops launched an equity crowdfunding campaign earlier this week to raise money for a new flagship restaurant and brewpub. The “Own Crowns” campaign invites donors to invest a minimum of $250, becoming a shareholder of the company (valued at $5 a share) and a member of the “Original Gangster Founders Crew” (OGFC).
“We’re not just asking for a donation, we’re not just asking for charity, we’re asking for investment,” co-founder Teo Hunter told Brewbound. “And that means a lot, not only to us, but for the people that invest.”
Hunter and Beny Ashburn launched what would eventually become Crowns & Hops in 2015. First a lifestyle and events brand (formerly known as Dope & Dank), the company was created to bridge the gap between the craft beer industry and people of color.
While Black people make up about 13% of the U.S. population, less than 1% of breweries are Black-owned, according to a 2019 survey by industry trade group the Brewers Association. With this venture, Ashburn and Hunter hope to create not only a community for local craft beer lovers, but a space to inspire future Black, Indigenous and people of color members of the industry.
“We’re trying to build something that once we’re long gone, it will continue to reverberate and create energy, because the fact that we’ve been having this less than 1% Black-owned breweries conversation for the past decade is completely ridiculous,” Hunter said. “And we’re committed to, the next time we talk, that number being 2%.”
The campaign has raised $133,158 from 217 investors as of press time July 23. Ashburn said the goal is to raise $1 million, but the company would ideally want to raise more and extend the program in the future.
“The crowdfunding model is such an important way for small businesses to raise capital without giving up too much of their own equity, while also giving back to the community, allowing them to have a part of it as well,” she told Brewbound. “The way the community is showing up right for us right now is pretty phenomenal. And we would want to be able to offer this opportunity to as many people as we can, without limiting it.”
This is not the first time that Crowns & Hops has turned to crowdfunding. The company raised more than $76,000 in seed money in 2019 from 739 donors on Indiegogo. The campaign was a rewards based program that offered donors perks such as special merchandise for participating.
This time, using the crowdfunding platform StartEngine, the company is inviting the community to get directly involved in the business and not only reap the benefits of its success, but see the business opportunities that the beer industry can provide for people of color.
“Our hope is we can showcase this opportunity to raise capital, and give people a little bit of the blueprint on how they can do it themselves,” Ashburn said.
The Inglewood facility will be the first Black-owned brewery in the area, according to the Crowns & Hops team. Located a few miles away from the new SoFi Stadium, the Forum concert venue, and the new Clippers arena (scheduled to open by 2026), the location will supply craft beer to what Hunter called a “craft desert.”
“There’s nothing from Downtown LA and then the far end of Inglewood. … There’s nothing for us,” he said. “A community of people have to travel outside of their community in order to get fantastic craft beer and a fantastic craft beer experience; that is our reality. So it was really important for us to create that community in the heart of Inglewood, California, in the heart of the Black and Brown community.
“We’re able to now transition and create that space that we’ve always wanted to create, which is something that was indicative of Black and Brown excellence, something that felt culturally authentic, [and] something that has been literally missing,” he continued.
“It’ll be an opportunity for us really to go back to kind of where we originally started, when we first became a part of the craft beer industry, which was curating experiences and curating events, for people to come together and share a pint,” Ashburn said. “So we’re excited about bringing that physical manifestation of our mission into a space that we can call Crowns & Hops.”
The 14,400 sq. ft. property will also serve as Crowns & Hops first production facility, and is scheduled to open in Q2 or Q3 of 2022, according to Hunter. Since it began selling beer in 2018, the company has contract brewed its offerings through Three Weavers Brewing Co. in Inglewood, and HenHouse Brewing Co. in Santa Rosa.
Last year, the company produced 1,000 barrels of beer, and is on track to produce around 1,200 this year, Hunter said.
“We have the demand of being right now a 3,000 or 4,000 barrel brewery, but we don’t have the ability to dictate that with the current contracts,” he said.
Additionally, the building provides the first chance for Crowns & Hops to distribute directly to consumers, and helps to create a visual for people in the community to see people of color working in the beer industry.
“Through content, through experiences, we showed what we look like, the Black and Brown community look like, inside of [the craft industry],” Ashburn said. “Once you’re able to see something that feels like you, that you have in common with other people, it becomes a community and that was really important for us to start with the community first.”
The company is also eyeing expanding distribution in the future, with the goal of eventually becoming a national brand. Its beers are currently available in 800 locations throughout California, as well as Atlanta, Las Vegas, New York City, and Portland, Oregon, according to the StartEngine campaign page.
Throughout its continued expansion and growth, the duo emphasized that above all the company aims to continue serving the Black community, with projects such as the 8 Trill Pils Initiative — a 2020 fund supported by Scottish craft brewery BrewDog to support Black entrepreneurs in the industry, set to relaunch soon, according to Hunter. Crowns & Hops first partnered with BrewDog in 2019 through the company’s development fund.
“You can’t build a legacy without making sure that that legacy serves others,” he added. “Otherwise, it’s a hollow legacy.”