We have a new place to call home: The Dillery
It has been a wild ride since launching The Real Dill two and half years ago. Tyler and I were adamant about taking things slowly, just dipping our toes into the water one at a time. When we first launched at the farmers markets in the summer of 2012 we expected to work on the business part time until we had been in business long enough to prove our concept. Well, after the very first farmers market we already realized that it was time to either sink or swim and shortly after that we left our jobs to pursue pickle making full time. Our friends and family were still volunteering in the kitchen with us, cutting cucumbers and packing jars. When we were done, we’d transport the 10 or so cases we had made across town to Tyler’s old bedroom in the basement of his parents house. We were much more of a micro business than a small business.
Within a year, we graduated from the shared commissary kitchen space to a small 300 square foot dedicated kitchen space where the space and equipment we needed would always be available for us. We were paying rent in four locations: the one kitchen, and three storage units (not counting free rent at Tyler’s parents house!). Needless to say we were terribly inefficient, storing empty jars in one place, hauling them to the kitchen to be filled, then trucking them across town to another storage location for them to sit until they would be distributed to store shelves. We had spent the last 3 or 4 months operating at full production capacity, working as much as it took in order to keep up. We made it work because it was the only option we had.
All along our mantra has been to “take it one step at a time”, learning as we go and making sure to not get too far ahead of ourselves. That’s exactly what we have done, growing bit by bit. For the first 5 months, our pickles were available at exactly two farmers markets and zero stores. Now our products are available in 150 stores and restaurants and as many as 8 farmers markets, depending on the week.
And now, we are very excited to be realizing one of our biggest milestones to date: moving into a space that we can truly call our own. And thus, we have named it The Dillery. We began moving in last week and will will begin producing there this week.
The Dillery, located in Denver’s historic Baker neighborhood, is roughly 4,600 square feet, and will be home to all of our operations: production, warehouse, and office. The space and the equipment are designed to meet the needs of our growing business and the move signals a new beginning for us. We are excited about the many opportunities this new home will afford us and look forward to celebrating with you all when we host an opening party sometime in the next few months.
We absolutely could never have dreamed of getting to this point without the tireless and relentless support of our friends, family, and all of you. We cannot thank you enough for standing behind us, sharing your excitement with us, and inundating us with positivity all along the way. We’ve always felt that with this kind of support, we simply cannot fail.
Stay tuned for upcoming events and tours for an opportunity to get a behind-the-scenes look at The Dillery.
Thanks for all of your support and we look forward to staying connected with you all!
Facebook
Instagram