Over the weekend, the Asheville Citizen-Times published a fascinating analysis of how the deal to lure Deschutes went sideways. If you’re interested at the intersection of public policy and business, it’s a great piece. But beyond general lessons, there are some particularities that jumped out at me. There were so many moving parts, it’s hard to know what tipped the scales in Roanoke’s favor, but it looks like culture played a dominant role. Consider:
- “The beer culture fit well with what the outdoors tourism officials were trying to promote, said that city’s economic development director, Wayne Bowers. ‘We’re on the Appalachian Trail. And the Blue Ridge Parkway comes right through town,’ Bowers said.” All you have to do is pick up a bottle of Deschutes to understand how central the outdoors is to the brewery. It’s embedded very deeply into their DNA.
- Asheville sold Deschutes’ first-choice site, but Deschutes stayed engaged because Asheville is such a beery city.
- On the one hand, Deschu
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Source: Beervana
Read the full article here.