In the News

Federal officials (figuratively) lifted their glasses and toasted Vanished Valley Brewing Co., recognized on Monday morning as a small business success story.

The Ludlow brewery welcomed U.S. Small Business Administration officials, U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield, and local dignitaries as the SBA marks its 69th anniversary this month.

Having first brewed its beers in a building the size of a two-car garage in 2016, Vanished Valley co-owners Joshua Britton, Manny Vital, and Sarah and Michael Rodrigues built a 4,000-square-foot brewery three years later next to the restaurant that had once housed Europa Black Rock Bar and Grille. The brewery funded its expansion with SBA-guaranteed 504 loans from Freedom Credit Union and Bay Colony Certified Development Corp.

It increased their annual production limited from 22,000 gallons to 119,000.

A month after the grand opening of the brewery/ tap room/ kitchen at 782 Center St. in February 2020, the pandemic hit and shuttered many businesses for good.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, also known as the CARES Act, which Neal co-authored, provided $2.2 trillion in economic assistance to businesses like Vanished Valley with its Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loans.

“The PPP loans we secured were a massive amount to help to us,” Britton said. “We had a very interesting journey and it has not been easy at all. We got off the runway in early ‘20 and then March hit and we had to pivot real quick.”

He added, “The state allowed us to deliver beer door-to-door and our distribution model really took off. Our phone was ringing off the hook.

Vanished Valley successfully redirected its operations from the planned draft beers and table service to the delivery of canned beer and foods. Its beers, including its flagship New England-style IPAs Pomona and Watershed, are now not only available statewide, but in parts of Rhode Island and New Hampshire.

“The SBA and Freedom Credit Union deferred (loan) payments for us and played an integral part in our surviving,” Britton said.

Mike Vlacich, SBA New England regional administrator, credited Neal, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, and SBA district director Bob Nelson fo their response to the needs of small businesses when the pandemic hit.

“(They) made sure jobs stayed whole and that businesses were able to stay in place,” Vlacich said. “We couldn’t do this without (Neal’s) skill, acumen and know-how. He has been the architect of so many of the key pieces to this unprecedented economic recovery.”

Neal noted how the Democratic-led Congress quickly reacted to the pandemic warnings made on March 11, 2020 by Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical advisor to the president.

“Within three months, America lost 22 million jobs. Speaker (Nancy) Pelosi and I and Secretary (of Treasury Steven) Mnuchin at the time wrote the CARES Act in eight days — brought to the floor, passed the House, passed the Senate and signed by the former president,” Neal recalled. “Two years later, every job is back and there are 11.2 million vacancies.... it’s an incredible statistic.”

He added, “The HEROES Act, we wrote, and President Joe Biden’s Rescue package... (has) put money into the hands of people who needed it.”

Link to article HERE.