Seven Stills Investor Help Needed, Please Read - June 20th, 2022

If you are receiving this email, it means that you are an investor in Seven Stills, and I need your support.  

Cash Position + COVID Debt + Loans: 

Broad Strokes: 

Kilroy Realty
Kilroy is both our landlord for our new brewery/distillery at 100 Hooper Street, and a lender.  As our construction was delayed and construction costs climbed (pre-COVID) they continued to extend loans to us to get our work completed: $750k, $1m, $345k, $130k.  The repayment of these loans was considered an “amortization payment” that was baked into the lease.  

Kilroy completely abated our rent in 2020.  In 2021 we received no abatement.  We were sent into default in April of 2021 and conversations continued to escalate throughout the year.  I eventually signed a two year interim lease agreement with Kilroy on April 11, 2022.  This agreement delayed the amortization payments due above for two years.  I am required to pay CAM in full monthly (~$22,500), direct billings (~$10,000 per month), and 15% of gross sales up to the current rent amount of $36,000.  

Live Oak
Live Oak is our lender for all of the equipment and FF&E for the brewery/distillery.  They loaned us $3.1m and have a UCC1 on all of our equipment.  They are an SBA lender, and we are currently in default with them for non-payment.  Our current past due amount is ~$297k.  We are actively working on resolving this to get back in good standing, but it is blocking our ability to get any additional SBA funding. 

Options: 
EIDL/RRF:  We did not receive additional EIDL funds or any RRF grants.  We were anticipating $2m in EIDL funds and $3.5m in RRF grants, but both programs have been fully exhausted and closed.  

SBA Debt: Unfortunately our Live Oak loan, which is SBA backed is in default for non-payment.  We are unable to get any further SBA debt because of this. 

Cash Bleed + Overhead: 
We have been paying rent + CAM + direct billings to Kilroy each month from March, April, May and now June.  This total payment has been ~$70k per month. Additionally we have ~$20,500 in temporary repayment plans to vendors, creditors and the CDTFA for expenses incurred during COVID.  

This sudden $90,500 of monthly expenditures is causing us to bleed our remaining capital, fast.  In March we bled a total of $120k, in April and May we bled $85k each month, and we are projected to bleed roughly $80k this month. 

We do not have enough cash on hand to survive until our projected break even point of January of 2023. 

We are going to continue to fight and find new ways to generate additional revenues from the business, but we need your help to get there.  We are also still raising equity on WeFunder, but due to the massive uncertainty and variation in the market we have not gained much traction.  

If you are interested in investing in the campaign, please visit it here:  https://wefunder.com/seven.stills/

How You Can Help:  
To bring in capital now, we are offering up 19 5-gallon barrels of whiskey for private bottling for the holiday season.  This will greatly support the business by providing much needed capital, now, and will also be a one of a kind whiskey that you can either keep to drink or use for holiday gifts.  


How it works: 
We have listed 19 5-gallon barrels of this whiskey for sale on our site for $3,000 per barrel.  By purchasing a barrel, you are purchasing the barrel and its entire contents, bottled, with a customized private label. 

After you have purchased the barrel, we will select a five gallon barrel and begin aging your whiskey at the distillery.  This is your barrel.  Four months after your whiskey has begun resting we will invite you and up to three additional guests to visit us for a private barrel sampling.  We will then work with you to design a customizable private barrel label that will go onto your finished bottles.  

After we pull, proof and bottle your whiskey we will notify you that your whiskey is ready to pickup.  You will get to take home all of your bottles, and the barrel that was used to age your whiskey. 

*We are able to offer shipping services for your whiskey for an additional fee after it has been bottled*.
 
The Code is WhiskeyFiend
Private Barrel #1
Private Barrel #1
$3000
View
The Code is WhiskeyFiend
View More Private Barrels
Other ways you can help:
1) Ask Raley's, Bevmo, Total Wine and Whole Foods to Carry Our Beers!

We are now authorized to sell into all of the Raley's, Bevmo, Total Wine and Whole Foods in Northern California.  

We do not have an active sales force going out and selling our beers and need your help.  All you need to do is go into the store and ask for them to carry Seven Stills beers if you do not see them on the shelves!  If they have a comment or request card, please fill one out and ask them to carry our beers!  It seriously helps a ton. 

2) Visit our locations + Buy Our Beers in the store:
The best way for us to survive this is to increase our sales now.  Please stop by for a beer, or buy a bottle of booze or a six pack to-go!  If it's at the store please buy one and share with your friends and tell them where you bought it!

3) Buy Gift Cards:
If you know you're going to buy some booze for us for the holidays, hop online now and buy a gift card.  We can weather this storm but we need your support now.  

Thank you all so much for your continued support! 
Back to blog

Leave a comment