Windsor Locks Permit Filed & Approved!


“On the spectrum of creative work, the difference between the mediocre and the good is vast . Mediocrity is, however, still on the spectrum; you can move from mediocre to good in increments. The real gap is between doing nothing and doing something."

- Clay Shirky, Cognitive Surplus


UPDATE: Our Permit Was Approved!

Our Special Use Permit Was Unanimously Approved 11/13/2018! Thank you so much to all of the folks who came out to support our project (and sat thru a lengthy Planning & Zoning hearing). Your first pint is on us! This was a big step – so today we celebrate! Tomorrow, we are on to the next step as oh-so-much-more paperwork awaits!

We don’t want to be mediocre. We won’t make mediocre beer. But we may not be able to deliver EVERYTHING we dreamed for Luppoleto right away. This is not surprising. We all dream. If we confined our dreams to what was strictly practical, that wouldn’t be dreaming; that’s just planning!

We got to the point where our lofty aspirations had become a distraction from taking a practical step forward. I read Cognitive Surplus a few years back but this quote didn’t sink in until I rediscovered it via Austin Kleon’s tremendous book, Show Your Work. It was a great reminder that the hardest part is zero to one.

In January of 2018, we reassessed the situation, stripped down the plan and went back to basics. We will start small and keep making small, iterative improvements until we can close the gap between the ideal vision for Luppoleto and the practical. Today, we took a big step by filing our Special Use Permit with the Town of Windsor Locks. There will be a Public Hearing on November 13. If you are available to attend we’d love your support.

Next Steps

So where does this leave us? Well, alcohol production is a heavily regulated business so even after all this, we are at Step #1.

  1. File Special Use Permit with Windsor Locks <— We are here (Update: Our Permit was approved! Huzzah!)
  2. Finalize Lease & Financing
  3. Order Equipment
  4. File for Federal Brewing License (TTB)
  5. File for State License
  6. Build Out / Set up All Equipment
  7. OPEN!!!

Don’t despair, Step #2 is nearly complete. The great legal minds are making sure all the t’s are crossed and i’s dotted (and hours billed). We have equipment quotes ready, and the TTB application is all filled out so these dominoes will fall quickly after Step #2. Well…most of em anyway. The average processing time for the TTB license is about 60 days but we can continue to make progress on the build-out while we wait! We just can’t brew.


Filed under #Progress

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