Raising a Glass in Michigan: The Three Blondes Brewing Story
Episode 194 • 10th January 2025 • Total Michigan • Cliff Duvernois
00:00:00 00:31:33

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In this episode of Total Michigan, host Cliff DuVernois interviews Carrie Troyer, co-owner of Three Blondes Brewing, a thriving brewery and restaurant in South Haven, Michigan. Carrie shares the journey of opening and managing the brewery with her sisters, overcoming challenges, and creating a community hub. Key discussion points include:

  • The collaborative spirit of the Michigan craft beer industry and the support received from other brewery and restaurant owners.
  • The strategic planning and resilience that went into establishing Three Blondes Brewing, including overcoming early challenges and COVID-19 disruptions.
  • The innovative and family-friendly atmosphere of the brewery, highlighted by their diverse menu, creative beer offerings, and a unique customer experience.

Links:

Three Blondes Brewing: https://threeblondesbrewing.com

Subscribe to our Email Newsletter: https://totalmichigan.com/join/

Find us on Facebook: https://facebook.com/totalmichigan

Watch on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@totalmichigan

Show Notes:

00:00 The Collaborative Spirit of Michigan's Craft Beer Industry

00:24 Welcome to Total Michigan with Cliff DuVernois

00:53 Discovering Three Blondes Brewing

01:10 The Journey of Three Blondes Brewing

02:09 From Grand Rapids to South Haven

03:15 The Birth of a Brewery Idea

04:01 Turning a Dream into Reality

06:40 Challenges and Triumphs in Opening a Brewery

10:52 The Role of Family and Community Support

13:31 Marketing and Social Media Strategies

14:02 Early Days and Learning Experiences

15:36 Thanking Our Sponsors

15:51 Join the Total Michigan Mailing List

16:10 Welcome Back to Total Michigan

16:21 Finding the Perfect Brewmaster

18:20 Overcoming Challenges in Brewing

20:47 Developing a Winning Menu

22:47 Perfecting the Pizza

27:16 Adapting During COVID-19

28:58 Expanding Through Distribution

30:21 Visit Three Blondes Brewing

31:03 Conclusion and Farewell

Transcripts

Carrie Troyer:

That's another great thing about the craft beer industry in Michigan

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is we talked to a lot of other brewery

owners at the time to gather information.

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:

And everyone was so approachable

and so nice and shared their

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:

information that they have and their

advice about opening a brewery.

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:

I feel like you don't get that in many

industries because it's so competitive.

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:

And it wasn't even just the,

the breweries, it was other

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:

restaurant owners were also very

helpful when we ask questions.

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Cliff Duvernois: Hello everyone.

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Welcome back to total Michigan, where

we interview ordinary Michiganders

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doing some pretty extraordinary things.

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I'm your host, Cliff DuVernois.

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I'm continuing my trek

through South Haven.

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And as we were looking online and

places to go, and I found this

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nice little brewery place to go to.

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What I didn't know at the time,

apparently, is that this is the unofficial

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hub of all things that are South Haven.

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If you want to go where the locals

go, then you will definitely

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want to check this place out.

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Today.

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I am sitting at Three Blondes

Brewing located in South Haven.

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And sitting with me is blonde number two.

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Carrie Troyer: That's me.

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Cliff Duvernois: That

would be Carrie Troyer.

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Carrie, how are you?

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Carrie Troyer: Good.

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Thanks, Cliff.

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How are you doing today?

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Cliff Duvernois: I am doing awesome.

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Thank you for asking.

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Carrie, why don't you tell us.

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What is Three Blondes Brewing?

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Carrie Troyer: Three Blondes Brewing is a

brewery and a restaurant in South Haven.

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We're not right in the heart of downtown.

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That means we have parking spots for

y'all because we're just on the other

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side of I 196, on the east side of

I 1, east side of I 196, and we have

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a parking lot so that's always good.

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People complain about parking downtown,

but downtown is wonderful too.

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So we're a brewery and a

full service restaurant.

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And we opened in 2018, so we've

finished six years, made it through

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COVID and we're still here now.

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Cliff Duvernois: Sweet Moses.

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That's incredible.

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Now, how many brews do you have on tap?

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Carrie Troyer: We have 14 beers on tap.

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All two of those are ciders

that we get locally and.

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surprise, we're also working

on our distiller's license.

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So maybe by the time this airs,

we'll also have cocktails.

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Cliff Duvernois: Oh my God.

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So there's so much here to unpack.

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But let's go back to the beginning.

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Why don't you tell us where are you from?

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Where did you grow up?

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Carrie Troyer: We grew up

right here in South Haven.

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The three blondes are me and my

sisters, Megan and Amanda, blonde

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number one and blonde number three.

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And we went to South Haven Public

Schools here, grew up, our parents

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also went to school here, so we're

second generation South Haven gals.

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And, of course, though, we moved

away because we thought we were too

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cool for this town once we graduated.

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At least two of us moved away.

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We've all been there.

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Yeah, we didn't, yeah.

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realize how good we had it here

in South Haven with the beautiful

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lake and the beautiful beaches.

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I mean, I only got to Grand

Rapids, so I didn't get that far.

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But then as the breweries craft beer

movement spiked around when it was at

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2010s, maybe somewhere around there.

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Cliff Duvernois: Yeah, I was

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Carrie Troyer: living in Grand

Rapids next to little founders,

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old founders before they got big.

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And that kind of started

my interest in craft beer.

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And.

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and trying, there's tons of breweries

opening in Grand Rapids at the time.

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So that was one of my

favorite things to do.

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But then when I'd come back

to little old South Haven, we

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didn't have a brewery to go to.

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So that kind of got the wheels turning

a little bit, just a little bit.

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Cliff Duvernois: Right.

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Carrie Troyer: Why isn't there

a brewery in South Haven yet?

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And at the time there wasn't,

this was in probably:

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So, my siblings thought the same thing.

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And one day we were maybe drinking

a little too much together and

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thought, why don't we do it?

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At that point, it was just kind of a joke.

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That was funny.

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Ha ha.

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What, what do we know about

breweries except for drinking beer?

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Right.

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And, but it did, it planted the seed.

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So then we started.

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Talking and it was still

booming at the time.

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It's kind of leveled out now.

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But hey, we're still here

and I'm a finance scale.

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And so is my husband.

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And so we put together a business plan.

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There were so many Excel

spreadsheets in that plan.

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It was such a solid plan.

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I had so much fun doing that.

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And we thought, Hey,

this is a viable, plan.

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Cliff Duvernois: Right?

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Carrie Troyer: But we need a brewer

and a restaurant manager because we

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don't know how to do those things.

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Cliff Duvernois: Yes.

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So let me ask you this question here.

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Taking a step back.

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Why did you decide to move to Grand Haven?

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Carrie Troyer: Grand Rapids.

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Grand Rapids.

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Cliff Duvernois: I'm sorry.

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Carrie Troyer: I had gotten a job there.

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I went to school in Kalamazoo

at Kalamazoo college.

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And then my first job was at an

accounting firm in Grand Rapids.

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So that's why I moved to Grand Rapids.

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Cliff Duvernois: So is that why you, is

that what you started to do as accounting?

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Carrie Troyer: Yes.

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Yes.

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Cliff Duvernois: Well, that would

explain the addiction to spreadsheets.

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Carrie Troyer: Yes.

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It comes in a A lot of handy

when you're opening a business.

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And I think that's where a lot of

breweries you go to, they were opened

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by brewers, which also makes sense.

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You have a passion for brewing.

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You want to share that with everybody.

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But sometimes that's hard if you

are really good at brewing but don't

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know the business side of things.

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So at least we had the business

side of things kind of wrapped up.

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We had experience in running a business.

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But we did not have

experience brewing beer.

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But don't worry.

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We don't, we personally, the

blondes don't brew the beer.

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We hired the experts for that.

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Cliff Duvernois: Oh, I thought this was

going to be a cool part of your story.

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I know.

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I'm sorry.

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Carrie Troyer: We know that the

funny part is, oh, I can't believe

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I'm saying this, but we tried when

we knew we were going to do this.

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We're like, okay, let's get a

homebrew kit and see how it goes.

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Oh my gosh.

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It was a disaster.

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So you guys, I promise you, we leave

the beer brewing to the experts

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who actually are trained in this.

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Not the blonde.

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The blondes aren't brewing the beer.

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There's that inside scoop.

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Cliff Duvernois: So if we go back

here, because you were talking about

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when you were in, when you were in

Grand Rapids and the kind of like the

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microbrewery thing was really starting

to take off and what is it about beer?

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That means you like it.

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And I say that because, it

could have been easily wine.

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It could have been very, very easily,

spirits, you know, cause Michigan

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is known for all of that stuff.

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But what in particular about

beer attracted you to it?

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Carrie Troyer: Well, I think beer just

comes off as much more approachable.

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You know, wine is a little intimidating.

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Cocktails are delicious.

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But also can be deadly.

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Yeah.

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Right.

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Also.

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Yeah.

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So I just feel like beer

just feels more approachable.

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And.

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Still, maybe more of a, I don't

want to say family friendly, but

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my family will go to breweries.

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It seems like a more inviting

atmosphere sometimes, especially that

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you can bring the whole family in.

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So it's not saying everyone's

drinking in the family.

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But it just feels it's

a, it's approachable.

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Cliff Duvernois: Right.

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And then, so when you come back here

and there's not a microbrewery that's

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in the area and For some reason or

another, you and your husband decided

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to put together a business plan.

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Was this just something you put

together and just let's just see what

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happens with the numbers or were, were

you already committed at that point?

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Carrie Troyer: Once we did the

plan, we were pretty much gonna

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do it, but we started, you know,

we really flushed out the plan.

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That's another great thing about the

craft beer industry in Michigan is we

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talked to a lot of other brewery owners

at the time to gather information.

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And everyone was so approachable

and so nice and shared their

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information that they have and their

advice about opening a brewery.

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I feel like you don't get that in many

industries because it's so competitive.

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But everyone was just so welcoming.

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Like, let us know what you need.

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And it wasn't even just the,

the breweries, it was other

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restaurant owners were also very

helpful when we ask questions.

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Cliff Duvernois: Because

you have the food here too.

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Carrie Troyer: Yes.

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Yes.

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Food is a big part of our business too.

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Cliff Duvernois: Now, as you're putting

this together and you're doing the

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research, putting together the, the

spreadsheets, had you already at this

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point in time, the three sisters,

at what point did you all sit down

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and say, these numbers are good?

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Let's, let's start moving forward.

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Carrie Troyer: Well, it was

the sisters and the husbands.

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And when

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Cliff Duvernois: it really

was a family affair,

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Carrie Troyer: when the discussion came,

Okay, we're going to do it by couple.

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How much are you willing to put into this?

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You know, and we, we each kind of

gave our number and my husband and

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I, we were the low ball, like we

weren't ready to commit all the way.

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But then we're like, well, we don't

want less ownership than my sisters.

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So we have to do as much

as the sisters, you know?

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So we all, antied up like

the maximum that we could do.

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That was an even amount to get it started.

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And it was terrifying,

there's my savings account

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Cliff Duvernois: drained,

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Carrie Troyer: but like into the

brewery, but we all committed.

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So we could all have equal ownership.

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Cause I wasn't going to be on that less

ownership and let my sisters rule over me.

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So we all put it in an

equal amount and it was.

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Terrifying.

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And then we had to keep putting in more

amounts equally as the process continued.

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But, uh, Hey, again, we're still here.

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It worked out.

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Cliff Duvernois: Yeah,

it must've worked out.

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Let me ask you this question here, because

it seems like most of the time when I talk

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to somebody, they're like, you know what?

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I got an idea.

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And then they chase it and

figure it all out later.

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You guys decided to do

the analyzing up front.

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Is there anything in the analysis

that kind of stains out to you though?

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Like maybe you're like really

surprised you that signaled to

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you, Hey, this really could work.

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Yeah.

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Carrie Troyer: Well, just the fact

that there was net income at the end

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helped, but we found we were way off

on a few things like we thought our

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distribution would be a lot higher,

which is selling product outside, not

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just in your restaurant to stores and

restaurants, and that's plateaued a

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little bit as cocktails get more, you

know, ready to drink cocktails and

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the seltzers so that didn't Really

materialized, but the restaurant ended

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up being a lot bigger than we thought

it would be in the volume and all that.

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And you know, what's also surprising

about breweries is merchandise.

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I just love people who go to

breweries, buy merchandise and it's

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such a nice extra, it's advertising

and just an extra revenue stream

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with all the t shirts that we sell.

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It's so cool that people that

go to breweries buy t shirts.

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I love it.

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Cliff Duvernois: Yeah.

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And

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Carrie Troyer: so lucky that they do.

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Cliff Duvernois: Now, is that part of your

original plan was to sell merchandise?

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Carrie Troyer: Yes, but

we thought we'd sell.

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I look back on it, I think we thought

we'd sell 10 t shirts a month or

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something and in the summer we'll sell

a hundred in a week, like I had no idea

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the extent that the people who go to

breweries will buy merch and it's been

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such a nice, it was a nice surprise.

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Cliff Duvernois: Now, where did

the name Three Blondes come from?

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I mean, I know you and your sisters

are blonde, but how did you come

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up with the name Three Blondes?

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Carrie Troyer: I think my little sister

will claim she thought of it herself.

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We went through, I don't even know

what else was on the drawing board.

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I think once we said that,

we just landed there.

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And I guess it worked.

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Some people think it might

be Three Blonde Beers.

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But it is really, we do a, we

do a, Blonde beers, of course.

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But it is named after us, even

though some of us have to dye

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our hair to maintain that image.

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That's me.

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Okay, guys, that's me.

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Cliff Duvernois: I wasn't gonna ask.

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Carrie Troyer: It's okay.

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It's not real.

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Cliff Duvernois: So let me ask you

this question here because now you go

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through you've got the business plan.

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You guys have now all ponied up the money.

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I am thinking now of getting the space,

getting the people on board, getting

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the, the liquor license, getting the

alcohol license, getting inspectors

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doing all the, and I think to myself,

there's probably easier things to do in

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life like brain surgery, then open up a

brewery, Talk to us about that process

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of just trying to get the doors open.

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Carrie Troyer: Cliff, don't

bring that up in my memory bank.

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Are you still talking to your therapist?

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Yes, it was really hard.

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okay, part of the sad story is my

sister's husband was really, and I say was

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because he died four years ago suddenly.

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It was awful.

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But he was really instrumental in getting,

that's another tangent we can go on.

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He was very instrumental

in getting this started.

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He's a project manager in his real

life, engineer project manager.

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And he was so focused on task

lists and assigning things.

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And he was really the one driving

the research and the inspections.

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And here's what you have to do before

you can do this and this and this.

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And if we didn't have him, this

wouldn't have happened at all.

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Cliff Duvernois: Oh, interesting.

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Carrie Troyer: Yeah.

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Yeah.

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So he was just really good at,

at driving the task management.

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Cliff Duvernois: Was there ever

a point in time when this was all

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coming together that you thought to

yourself, this is never going to work.

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We're never going to get open.

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Carrie Troyer: Yes.

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Yes.

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Well, when the, you know, the

construction bid came in, I don't

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know, 25 percent higher than the

construction company told us we had

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to go get another loan to afford it.

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We were building in winter.

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So, As there was labor shortages.

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And we were worried about getting the

building enclosed before winter came

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and it wasn't happening, you know,

just watching like it's snow in the

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building because it wasn't enclosed.

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Yeah, it was terrifying.

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But we, that's one thing we said, cause

a lot of breweries were opening at the

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time and a lot of people would have an.

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An opening target date on a sign.

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And I said, sisters, if we're committing

to, we said opening spring:

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I said, there is no way

we're missing this deadline.

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Like I am not, there are so

many places that don't hit that.

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And I don't want to be one.

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And we opened June 14th, which we had

what was that six days to spare until

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summer and we said spring, so we made it.

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And I was so thankful.

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Cliff Duvernois: So actually, yeah.

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So when you talk about that work,

especially like during that time

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of the day, were you pretty much

working like 24 hours a day?

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Were you getting any sleep?

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Is it you just one more thing?

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How did that work out?

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Carrie Troyer: I did just go through

an old email where my brother in law,

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the one who passed away had mentioned

he had already put in:

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work on top of his full time job.

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I luckily towards close

to opening up my Real job.

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let me go half time part time so

I could commit my other part time

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to getting this up and running

because it really did take a lot of

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Cliff Duvernois: so you were all

still working as this was going on.

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Carrie Troyer: Yes.

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I'm the only one so far that has

quit my job to do this full time.

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So,

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Cliff Duvernois: okay, so you're,

you're still working at the time

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you're putting this on, which

by the way, this is a miracle,

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Carrie Troyer: right?

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Cliff Duvernois: I mean, and I think

about how fortuitous it is that there's

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six of you now because somebody can

always be here, to be working as well.

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Yeah.

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my next question to you is, is that

as you're approaching that soft

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deadline, what were you doing to like

to spread the word that this was going

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to happen and get people to come here?

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Was it purely just let's

hang a sign out front?

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How did you do that?

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Carrie Troyer: We had the sign and then

we started getting into the social media.

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That was fun, actually.

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And we could differentiate ourselves

a little bit from all the other

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breweries that are opening because

we're three women at the forefront

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of the brand, which is still rare.

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I mean, there's plenty still women

brewers and women that own breweries.

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But you know, in 2018, it

was a little less common.

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So we stuck out a little bit and had

a way to differentiate ourselves.

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So we tried to play on that and get

ourselves in the social media instead

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of just hiding behind a screen.

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We put ourselves out there, which is fun.

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Like we have a good time together.

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Cliff Duvernois: Yeah.

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you go through the opening of this

place and, you know, people are

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starting to come in, trickle in, talk

to us about maybe some of those like

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early, I don't want to say nightmares,

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Carrie Troyer: but it was tough

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Cliff Duvernois: learning opportunities,

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Carrie Troyer: learning opportunities

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Cliff Duvernois: that, uh, that came

up, that popped up that you were just

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like completely caught off guard on.

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Carrie Troyer: Well, seeing as I'd

never even worked in a restaurant,

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that was extremely eyeopening to me.

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And we had hired a front of

house manager that ended up.

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Backing out about a week before we opened.

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So our general manager was trying

to do that plus manage the back.

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So it was difficult and I learned real

fast that how I could try to step in and

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be of assistance, but it was a little

rocky at the beginning, but we had a lot

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of support staff and a lot of people with

a lot of experience, like the servers that

369

:

we hired, a lot of them weren't brand new.

370

:

They had been in the industry.

371

:

So that, I mean, we leaned

on their experience and thank

372

:

goodness they carried us.

373

:

So,

374

:

Cliff Duvernois: No, that's

actually really good.

375

:

And the fact that you're relying on these

other people to come in and do this.

376

:

So how, so when you talk about like the

experience, like, is there a couple of

377

:

things that you learned that you thought

was like, Hey, that's like pretty clever.

378

:

Are you glad that your staff

pointed that out to you?

379

:

Yeah.

380

:

Carrie Troyer: I'm sure there

are many of those things.

381

:

They'd have had so many good ideas

along the way, just how to organize the

382

:

restaurant, even the layout of things

and just efficiencies that I would not

383

:

have seen, but they are, they're X, but

they've been a lot of my, our servers

384

:

have been doing this for a long time.

385

:

And so I can't think of a

specific example, but they just,

386

:

thank goodness we had them.

387

:

Cliff Duvernois: Yeah.

388

:

You had that experience to rely on.

389

:

For audience.

390

:

We're going to take a quick break

and thank our sponsors today.

391

:

We're talking with Carrie Troyer,

blonde number two of three blondes

392

:

brewing located in South Haven.

393

:

And, uh, we will be back after the break.

394

:

Are you enjoying this episode?

395

:

Well, I can tell you

there's a lot more to come.

396

:

Jump over to TotalMichigan.

397

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398

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You'll get a list of the top

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402

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403

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today.

404

:

Hello everyone.

405

:

And welcome back to Total Michigan,

where we interview ordinary Michiganders

406

:

doing some pretty extraordinary things.

407

:

I'm your host, Cliff DuVernois.

408

:

Today, we're talking with

Carrie Troyer of Three Blondes

409

:

Brewing located in South Haven.

410

:

Carrie, before the break, we were

talking about the absolute insanity of

411

:

opening up your doors and trying to,

trying to keep all the wheels on the

412

:

cart, so to speak, what I would like to

do is, and you mentioned this before,

413

:

is I want to explore The finding the

brewmaster and getting somebody in here

414

:

to work and because I know that based

on what you were talking about before

415

:

you and your sisters kind of had a

vision and your husband's to kind of had

416

:

a vision of what this place would be.

417

:

Talk to us about finding the

brewmaster that could get you there.

418

:

Carrie Troyer: Well, that was a difficult

test because we didn't even know how

419

:

to interview a brewmaster So we had

to hire a consultant that knew more

420

:

obviously to like We we don't even

you know, hey, how do you brew beer?

421

:

So we didn't even know what to

ask him or how to know if he

422

:

was a good brewer he or she.

423

:

So we hired a consultant to do the

interviewing and then give us feedback

424

:

on multiple candidates And we ended

on the gentleman we landed on he was

425

:

perfect for You The three blondes.

426

:

It was a great, great relationship.

427

:

He doesn't, he's not our brewer anymore.

428

:

But he, developed the

recipes for our main beer.

429

:

He had come from Greenbush,

which is in Sawyer, Michigan.

430

:

So he had some experience under his

belt, like running a small brewery,

431

:

small to medium sized brewery.

432

:

And so he helped get all our equipment

in and let us know what we needed

433

:

to order and developed Some of the

mainstays that we still have today, he

434

:

was, the main recipes was like boom,

boom, Betty, like boom, boom, Betty

435

:

named after my Grandma Boom, Boom.

436

:

That's our signature blonde

ale, the most popular beer.

437

:

and he was really creative.

438

:

He was, we kind of gave him like, we need

a range of beers to cover all the steps.

439

:

the styles, but it also has to be for the

people who are coming in just to visit the

440

:

restaurant that don't really drink beer.

441

:

We need pretty basic beer to

like the everyday person's beer.

442

:

That's not Miller Lite because

we are not allowed to sell those.

443

:

We have to sell only what we make.

444

:

So I think he did a great job in

the initial run of beers and then

445

:

he even did barrel aging beer.

446

:

So he was awesome, fun to work

with, put up with the three

447

:

blondes, you know, it was great.

448

:

Cliff Duvernois: Now, when we talk

about, cause this is, This really

449

:

is the main part of your business.

450

:

So you were having to hire an expert

to come in and actually do this.

451

:

My question to you is, is, did you ever

sit there and lay awake at night thinking,

452

:

what if this guy just walks away in there?

453

:

Because this, like I said,

this is your main thing.

454

:

If he just like disappears and you

come in one day and he's longer here,

455

:

you're scrambling and I'll try to

find somebody to fill their shoes.

456

:

So how was it to let go of that control?

457

:

Carrie Troyer: We still have

that fear every day, every day,

458

:

because I still, I don't, I'm a

CPA, I don't, I don't brew beer.

459

:

So at any time that could

happen to us, you know.

460

:

But we just make sure

they have careful records.

461

:

And we try to treat everyone

really well, so they wouldn't

462

:

have a reason to just disappear.

463

:

But I've heard horror stories from

other people places other business

464

:

owners that this has happened to them.

465

:

And it's terrifying for someone to leave.

466

:

But you just have to trust the process and

467

:

Cliff Duvernois: yes, and

everything's going to work out now.

468

:

Is it one of those things where, because

before you were talking about like

469

:

recipes that they come up with to make

your signature boom, boom Betty, right?

470

:

Um, yeah.

471

:

If the brewmaster did leave, does

one of your staff, could they

472

:

step up and continue to make this

until you got another brewmaster

473

:

in here, or how does that work?

474

:

Carrie Troyer: Yes, now we're big

enough where we have assistant brewers,

475

:

thankfully, so the assistant brewers

can always step into that role.

476

:

so that's helpful.

477

:

And then all the recipes are written down.

478

:

And then, It's typical.

479

:

If a brewer leaves a brewery, they

don't take their recipes with them.

480

:

It's it's property of the brewery.

481

:

So we don't have an issue like, oh,

we won't be able to replicate that.

482

:

Boom, boom.

483

:

So thankfully, we're covered there

484

:

Cliff Duvernois: Now at what point

did because, you know, you get

485

:

everything up that's up and running.

486

:

You've got the restaurant going.

487

:

You've got, the beer going.

488

:

At what point in time did you

say to yourself, Holy cow,

489

:

this is actually working?

490

:

Carrie Troyer: I say that all the time

to myself, still, I cannot believe

491

:

that this is what we're doing, but

when we made money our first year,

492

:

and you know, normally new businesses,

let alone in the restaurant and

493

:

brewery space, you typically don't

make money in your first year.

494

:

But we had a really rockin summer, thank

goodness, because we opened, summer is

495

:

the best time to come to South Haven,

so we opened, it was good and bad, we

496

:

opened in large crowds, which is tough to

handle when you're a brand new business.

497

:

But thank goodness we had the volume.

498

:

Because that, carried us through.

499

:

So then we're like,

okay, we're making money.

500

:

Maybe we can pay ourselves now.

501

:

You don't start out that way.

502

:

Cliff Duvernois: No, you definitely don't.

503

:

And what I would like to do it now is talk

about, because you, you made a comment

504

:

before about how you're a restaurant.

505

:

And, brewery, how do

you develop the menus?

506

:

Did you hire a chef to come

in and do that for you?

507

:

Carrie Troyer: Yes.

508

:

We also had a restaurant

consultant who stayed with us

509

:

on, on with us for six months.

510

:

He was also a South Haven graduate

and happened to be one of my,

511

:

brother in law's good friends.

512

:

So that helped.

513

:

He was, they were close friends,

like best man in his wedding.

514

:

And he had a lot of expertise in

opening and running restaurants.

515

:

So he did the menu, he did the

staffing, he did the kitchen layout.

516

:

We have a very big kitchen compared

to most breweries are afraid of,

517

:

not afraid of food, I won't say

that, but it's, they focus on beer

518

:

because they're brewers usually.

519

:

So we knew to have the volume,

we had to have food and a big

520

:

menu and big volume for that.

521

:

So we have a very large kitchen

for what most breweries have.

522

:

Right.

523

:

So, and that's because our chef was like,

uh, you're going to need some space.

524

:

Unfortunately, he took all the

space out of the office and I

525

:

don't have any place to sit back

there But you know, that's okay.

526

:

There's plenty of space

on the grill for your food

527

:

Cliff Duvernois: Now, how do you come

up with because I know you before

528

:

we were talking about division for

the brewery And the beers coming

529

:

in what about that menu or did you

just offload and say you know what?

530

:

These are the kind of beers

we got just come up with food

531

:

that tastes good with them

532

:

Carrie Troyer: Yeah, that's

basically what we said.

533

:

And he created the whole menu.

534

:

So and we wanted a variety because he

had You know, input from the blondes.

535

:

And we're sometimes picky.

536

:

So we did have some specifications.

537

:

Two of us are vegetarians.

538

:

So we have a lot of good vegetarian

options and vegan, which I know

539

:

people appreciate because it's getting

better now, I think, in the restaurant

540

:

space to have vegetarian options.

541

:

But there weren't many in South Haven.

542

:

That was another problem.

543

:

When we want to go out in South

Haven, we wouldn't, there wouldn't

544

:

be many vegetarian options.

545

:

So we have a lot of those options.

546

:

And then also for the gluten free

folks, we try to keep some gluten free

547

:

options for those with that dietary

restriction, although it's tough to

548

:

drink beer when you're gluten free.

549

:

So we do have cider options

for those folks too.

550

:

But we ran the gamut.

551

:

So we got, tacos that

are really good pizza.

552

:

We just were voted best

pizza in South Haven in:

553

:

Cliff Duvernois: Hang your hat on that.

554

:

Carrie Troyer: So yes, we have

been working on our pizza hard.

555

:

It's definitely changed

from when we first started.

556

:

We got different pizza ovens.

557

:

We sent some of our cooks to pizza school.

558

:

Wait a minute.

559

:

You got different pizza ovens?

560

:

Yeah, we changed out the

pizza Oh, you are serious.

561

:

Yeah, we're serious.

562

:

Our pizza oven kept breaking and it

just wasn't meeting our standards.

563

:

So we got a different kind of Pete,

like a conveyor belt pizza oven, which,

564

:

conveyor belt that's consistency.

565

:

Cause it's it goes in and goes out at the

exact same amount of time for every pizza.

566

:

we had like hotspots in our old oven.

567

:

So some pizzas would come out a

little darker, not the conveyor oven.

568

:

And then we sent some of our staff to

pizza school to get our dough honed in.

569

:

And now, yeah, we were so busy.

570

:

So excited when we won the best

local pizza by the, it was a Harold

571

:

Palladium, best of South Haven boat.

572

:

So that was exciting

573

:

Cliff Duvernois: Because I think,

I think a lot of people don't get

574

:

the fact that there's actually

a real science to making pizza.

575

:

I mean, people, people just think

that, Oh, you just throw a crust

576

:

and some stuff on there and put it

in the oven and it's good to go.

577

:

But the really good pizza,

there is a science to that.

578

:

Carrie Troyer: Yeah.

579

:

Yes.

580

:

And so we learned that at pizza school.

581

:

And we changed how we did the dough.

582

:

And then we try to come up with

some really creative toppings.

583

:

We have a good pickle

pizza, perfectly pickled.

584

:

Oh my gosh.

585

:

It's my favorite pizza.

586

:

I just I could eat it all the time.

587

:

And it's not your typical like pizza.

588

:

Pickle bacon ranch.

589

:

That's what you normally see.

590

:

It has, it's a garlic aioli base,

which I thought sounded not good,

591

:

but oh my gosh, it's delicious.

592

:

So don't judge it till you try it.

593

:

And we have sweet hottie pickles.

594

:

So they're like a little bit sweeter than

a dill, but we also have dill pickles.

595

:

And then we have pickled onions

because pickled, perfectly pickled.

596

:

We're putting all the pickles on them.

597

:

Cliff Duvernois: I'm a

big fan of pickled onions.

598

:

Carrie Troyer: Yeah, so good.

599

:

And then actual dill sprinkled on the top.

600

:

And, pepperoncinis just to,

add a little spice in there.

601

:

Not pepperoni, pepperoncini,

and it's vegetarian.

602

:

So good.

603

:

Cliff Duvernois: This is great.

604

:

So let me ask you this question here.

605

:

If so, it's actually, there's

going to be two questions.

606

:

This one first, if somebody is listening

to this and they come here and they're,

607

:

so what can they expect when they walk in?

608

:

But also I want you to share with us

maybe some of the most popular dishes

609

:

that you have, or maybe a dish that you

would recommend besides perfectly pickled

610

:

Carrie Troyer: pizza,

611

:

Cliff Duvernois: besides perfectly

pickled pizza and the boom, boom Betty.

612

:

Carrie Troyer: Well, what they

can expect when they walk in.

613

:

It's a different vibe

from summer to winter.

614

:

So.

615

:

Southaven is a tourist town and

we are so busy in the summer, so

616

:

it will be busy if you come in the

summer, there will likely be a wait.

617

:

Most restaurants in Southaven don't

take reservations, so be prepared for

618

:

that in all of Southaven, there's a few.

619

:

so we have a gorgeous outdoor patio

for when you're waiting, and there's

620

:

an outdoor bar out there so you

can grab a drink while you wait.

621

:

And there's sidewalk chalk

for the kids to play with.

622

:

We also just got a couple of

arcade games inside upstairs.

623

:

So you are

624

:

Cliff Duvernois: Family friendly,

625

:

Carrie Troyer: Family friendly.

626

:

You can give your kids a couple

of bucks, maybe 20, give them a

627

:

20, to spend money at the arcade.

628

:

We, or maybe mom and dad want

it with vintage arcade games.

629

:

So we got Tetris.

630

:

We got Cruising World.

631

:

I used to love to do

cruising world, claw machine.

632

:

So send your kids up to entertain

them while you're waiting

633

:

while mom and dad have a beer.

634

:

And then you'll get seated

in the winter though.

635

:

Usually there's no way you

can come right in, sit down.

636

:

You can still send your kids up to

our mini arcade, which we partner

637

:

with a local arcade in town.

638

:

He's the one that helps us

with the arcade, rocket arcade,

639

:

shout out to rocket arcade.

640

:

And then enjoy some beer cider.

641

:

Cocktails soon.

642

:

Don't quote me on the date.

643

:

But those are coming.

644

:

And then the food items.

645

:

So besides the perfectly pickled, which,

obviously I can't stop mentioning,

646

:

we also have a Rangoon pizza, crab

Rangoon that people rave about.

647

:

As a vegetarian, I don't eat that.

648

:

But it's like a cult favorite.

649

:

People come here just

for the crab Rangoon.

650

:

I know.

651

:

And we're not just a pizza place either.

652

:

Our tacos are amazing.

653

:

We have really good burgers,

with some unique, unique burger

654

:

options, or you can create your own.

655

:

And, then we usually throw in some

entrees, you know, like you can get steak.

656

:

If you want, if you want to be fancy,

but if you don't want to be fancy, you

657

:

can get cheese curds or a tender basket.

658

:

Cliff Duvernois: So you've got, not

only is it just full pizza, though,

659

:

you can get all kinds of appetizers

and everything else when you come here.

660

:

The

661

:

Carrie Troyer: whole gamut.

662

:

Cliff Duvernois: Yeah.

663

:

Carrie Troyer: Lots of, and kid's menu,

of course, and kids little stuff they can

664

:

draw on, keep those kiddos entertained.

665

:

Cliff Duvernois: So let me ask you

this question here, because you, you

666

:

clearly now gotten a lot of experiences.

667

:

You, you opened this in 2018.

668

:

Yes, 2018.

669

:

So the question I got for you is if

you could go back and tell your younger

670

:

self from 2018, something that would

help them out, what would that be?

671

:

Carrie Troyer: Oh, man, that's tough.

672

:

be prepared for anything like

adapt and overcome was our, was our

673

:

mantra, especially during COVID.

674

:

Like we, we turned to the inside of this

restaurant, which no one could eat in.

675

:

We made it a pickleball court

for the family because I

676

:

mean, what else do you do?

677

:

You know, it was closed

down in the inside.

678

:

So we were playing pickleball

in here with mom and dad, but

679

:

just be ready for anything.

680

:

You can't get so stuck on any one idea.

681

:

Because it's going to change.

682

:

So adapt and overcome, but

that's what we still do now.

683

:

Cliff Duvernois: Oh, that's great.

684

:

And speaking of which, cause I know you

mentioned before about COVID, did you

685

:

do what every other restaurant did and

just say, Hey, you know, you can pick up

686

:

your food here and take it home with you.

687

:

Is that how you basically got through?

688

:

Carrie Troyer: Yeah, we, I don't think

closed down at all for a full week.

689

:

That whole time we had, unfortunately, of

course, had to lay off most of our staff.

690

:

We kept our head chef on and we did like.

691

:

24 hour order in advance.

692

:

He would come here, cook

all the orders by himself.

693

:

Cause this was when we, you didn't know

if you could have contact with anyone.

694

:

So he'd be in the kitchen

cooking everything by himself,

695

:

all the orders that he got, and

then we'd have a pickup window.

696

:

We turned our little garage

into a pickup window over there

697

:

and folks would pick it up.

698

:

and then we just did strictly.

699

:

To goes, and we had all the igloo,

we had four igloos out there and we

700

:

even got a carport and made it into a

dining space and a little greenhouse.

701

:

So people did embrace eating outdoors.

702

:

Thank goodness.

703

:

And we still have our dome out.

704

:

We call it the blonde dome.

705

:

We still put one up every winter and

we've got a few folks who have made it an

706

:

annual tradition to come dine in the dome.

707

:

Even though it's not nearly as

popular as it was, but it's still fun.

708

:

Like I know folks book it every

new year's day to go out and dine

709

:

in the dome with their family.

710

:

It's awesome.

711

:

Cliff Duvernois: Oh, that's

actually kind of cute.

712

:

And before you were

talking about distribution.

713

:

Carrie Troyer: Yes.

714

:

Cliff Duvernois: So do you

actually take your beer and you

715

:

have it distributed on shelves?

716

:

Carrie Troyer: Yes.

717

:

So we signed up with a distribution

company that does all that for us.

718

:

They buy the beer from us and then go

distribute it to, stores and restaurants.

719

:

So the biggest, their biggest customer

is the Meijer right here in South Haven.

720

:

Oh, nice.

721

:

Yeah.

722

:

So we're only in Meijer, South Haven.

723

:

Oh.

724

:

Of the Meijers we're only in

the Meijer in South Haven.

725

:

But they sell a ton of our product.

726

:

It's awesome.

727

:

It's crazy.

728

:

It's just a mile down the road from us.

729

:

But then we're also in other

places as far as in the U.

730

:

P.

731

:

in stores and we have a

beer finder on our website.

732

:

If anyone's curious how close to where

they can get the beer, just go to the

733

:

beer finder on a website and it can

tell you the closest store to you or

734

:

restaurant where we might be on tap.

735

:

Cliff Duvernois: Right.

736

:

And then as far as distribution goes of,

of the, the beer that you sell here, was

737

:

that always a part of the plan as well?

738

:

Or did that come later?

739

:

Like somebody was like, man, I wish I

could buy this in the grocery store.

740

:

Carrie Troyer: It was a part of the plan.

741

:

You definitely don't make as

much money on distribution.

742

:

So that, that wasn't our plan.

743

:

And we thought we were going to scale

up even larger with distribution, but

744

:

that, didn't exactly come to fruition.

745

:

But even our, um, external accountants

were like, uh, your distribution plan is.

746

:

Stupid, insane.

747

:

I was like, okay, okay, fine.

748

:

Wait a minute, stupid,

749

:

Cliff Duvernois: insane,

good, stupid, insane, bad.

750

:

Carrie Troyer: Like we, we thought

we'd bulk it out real good.

751

:

And then we, it wasn't

that crazy, which is fine.

752

:

Cause that's, that makes us just, we

focus more on the restaurant and the

753

:

brewery, the local focus, which is.

754

:

It's worked out just fine.

755

:

Cliff Duvernois: Perfect.

756

:

And if somebody is listening to

this and they want to come and check

757

:

you out, find you online, stop in

here, try the boom, boom Betty.

758

:

what, how do they find you?

759

:

Carrie Troyer: Well, we have a

website, three blondes, Marine.

760

:

com.

761

:

The three is spelled out

and blonde has an E in it.

762

:

what's also cool is we

just, Google street view.

763

:

We just got the Google street

view option where you can keep.

764

:

Not only see the outside of the building,

but you can click into the building.

765

:

So if you go on Google, you

can go right into three blondes

766

:

and take your own virtual tour.

767

:

That's cool.

768

:

Yeah.

769

:

They talked us into that and it is cool

because then you can, you know, and

770

:

just set a scene, the outside, you can

go click on the inside and you can come

771

:

right into the, the dining area and then

you can go out to the patio and kind of

772

:

check that out through Google street view.

773

:

It's really fun.

774

:

I encourage people to check it out.

775

:

It's cool.

776

:

Cliff Duvernois: Yes.

777

:

Carrie, thank you so much for

taking time to chat with us today.

778

:

Really do appreciate it.

779

:

Carrie Troyer: Thanks, Cliff.

780

:

This is fun.

781

:

I hope everyone comes out to Three

Blondes Brewing,:

782

:

Cliff Duvernois: Oh, everybody will.

783

:

Carrie Troyer: Okay.

784

:

All right.

785

:

Cliff Duvernois: Twist their arm.

786

:

Carrie Troyer: And we have a

jet ski dealership next door.

787

:

If you need a jet ski, have

a jet ski, have a beer.

788

:

Cliff Duvernois: Awesome.

789

:

Carrie, thank you again.

790

:

And for our audience, you can always

roll on over to TotalMichigan.

791

:

com.

792

:

Click on Carrie's interview and get

the links that she mentioned above.

793

:

We'll talk to you next time when we

talk to another Michigander doing

794

:

some pretty extraordinary things.

795

:

We'll see you then.

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