Last week the Workers’ Assembly hosted the first Investor Q&A Happy Hour at our development office. A little more than twenty people came by to hear more about our offering of Member-Investor Shares with a some new members joining the Co-op and some members coming by to sign subscription agreements. The night was a big success, and we look forward to hosting weekly Investor Q&A Happy Hours on Thursday evening from 5-7pm while we raise the funds necessary to complete the build-out of our brewpub.
This week we mailed out the prospectus containing the terms and disclosures of the current offering of Member Investor Shares. Look for it in your mailbox and expect a call from one of the members of the Workers’ Assembly some time soon. As previously mentioned, we are hosting weekly Investor Q&A Happy Hours on Thursday evenings from 5-7 p.m. in the development office beginning March 11th. This is a time to hear more about the offering, ask questions, and sign contracts.
We are also hosting a Green Building Investment Forum on Saturday, March 6 from 2-4 in the development office. This meeting is specifically aimed at getting involvement from the environmental community and will focus on our goal of achieving LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. Many guest in attendance will be unfamiliar with Black Star, so if you choose to attend this event, please be aware we’ll also cover the basic Co-op membership information you already know.
Again, we aim to raise $375,000 to cover the costs of construction and start-up funds. If you are able, this is the time to make a larger contribution to your Co-op. The sooner the funds are raised, the sooner we can be enjoying a tasty beverage in our new brewpub!
| March 10, 2010 | ||
| 7:00 PM | to | 9:00 PM |
We’re back on the east side for this Bar Hours, and continue to meeting at new places. Please join us for the first Bar Hours for the month of March as we visit the East Side Show Room.
We’ll be out on Wednesday, March 10th for an opportunity to meet and have a beer with members of our Board of Directors. The East Side Show Room is located at 1100 E 6th, and we’ll be there from 7-9 PM.
As you know, these events are not formal meetings, but they are a great opportunity for member-owners (and prospective new members-owners!) to come share a pint with some of our Directors and enhance the membership linkage of our Co-op.
| March 6, 2010 | ||
| 2:00 PM | to | 4:00 PM |
Already set to be the world’s first co-operatively owned brewpub, Black Star Co-op continues to aim high. We are seeking recognition of our brewpub as a U.S. Green Building Council LEED certified green building.
Going for LEED certification is certainly the right thing to do, but it adds upfront costs to the brewpub’s construction. That’s why Black Star is reaching out to Austin environmental community to help us raise investment capital to achieve LEED certification.
There are only a handful of LEED certified restaurants in the US (even fewer in Texas!), and with investment support from Austin’s environmental community, we can expand that group of exemplary performers with a highly efficient, energy- and water-saving brewpub.
We invite interested parties to attend a Green Brewpub Investment Forum on Saturday, March 6 from 2-4 PM. The brewpub site is located in the Midtown Commons development, a 73-acre transit oriented, mixed-use development set on a remediated brownfield, just across the plaza from the Crestview station of Capital Metro’s Red Line rail service. The address and a map are available here.
The Green Brewpub Investment Forum is an opportunity to hear about the details of the investment offering, the green building and sustainability efforts, and general background on Black Star Co-op. For more information email invest@blackstar.coop or call (512) 452-BEER.
This is an exciting time for the Co-op. We recently installed a “Coming Soon” sign to the side of our building at N. Lamar and Airport Blvd., which is attracting lots of attention to the brewpub. We completed the first round of permitting with the City of Austin and are still on track to begin construction within the next few weeks. Additionally, we’ve kicked off the second round of our offering of Member-Investor Shares and are having weekly Investor Q&A gatherings at the development office on Thursdays from 5-7p.m.
As you may know, in addition to raising money through Member-Investor Shares, our project budget includes raising $50,000 in new memberships by June 2010. This is where you can help. In the spirit of open and voluntary membership, your Co-op needs your help in attracting more member-owners. Now is the time to ask your friends, family, and loved ones to join you in co-operative ownership of our Co-op!
Throughout the month of March, each new member-owner will get a Black Star Co-op mug and bottle-opener keychain with their welcome packet. Also, keep in mind that all members paying their full membership equity before the brewpub opens will be recognized as Charter Members. If you or someone you know has been on the fence about joining, now is the time make the leap and become a member of the world’s first co-operatively owned brewpub!
Becoming a member is quick and easy, so pass this link on to your friends and family:
The scene at the Co-op’s development office on February 23rd. We’re warm and hard at work. Just imagine that the next time one of these hits Austin you’ll be able to come to the brewpub and enjoy a hearty meal with a pint of Recalcitrant Dockhand!
Here’s a good article from Patrick Beach about some up-and-coming breweries in Austin…explain to me what the “comparative elder statesman category” means!
Make Room for More Craft Brews in Austin
by Patrick Beach
Our architect, Matthew Nesbitt, has prepared some 3D visuals of what the finished brewpub interior will look like. See if you can spot Luke Skywalker in the brewery!
As you enter the front door of Black Star Co-op Pub & Brewery...
...you pause to consider which house beer you'd like...
...you settle on the Rational Series beer High Esteem and stroll through the lounge area...
...finally, you decide to grab some fresh, local food, sit at "bar-ninsula" with some other regular Member-Owners, and watch Jeff and the brewery team brew up YOUR next Black Star beer!
| February 18, 2010 | ||
| 5:00 PM | to | 7:00 PM |
With the construction of our brewpub about to commence, the Co-op has launched a new round of offering Member-Investor Shares. Now is the time to make an investment in your Co-op!
We’ll be mailing an updated information booklet to member-owners, and will follow up with phone calls and emails. However, if you’re the kind of person that likes to strike while the iron is hot, please join us for a Q&A happy hour from 5-7 PM on Thursday, February 18th.
The gathering will take place at our development office, which is across the street from the brewpub location at Midtown Commons. For more information, email invest@blackstar.coop or give us a call at (512) 452-BEER.
Black Star is pleased to officially announce the commencement of a second round of our offering of Member-Investor Shares!
We first offered Member-Investor Shares in 2008 with the goal of raising $375,000 and quickly reached our interim goals to launch the location search. However, the offering was put on hiatus that fall as the search took longer than we expected. We have since found a longterm home, completed the architectural and engineering plans, and submitted the documents for permitting by the City. We plan to begin construction at the end of this month and need further investment from our membership to bring our brewpub into this world.
This second round of Member-Investor Shares has the same goal as before, $375,000, and with the combination of current and previous investments, the build-out fund from the landlord, and new member-owners we are already over half way to the total project cost.
The Member-Investor Shares are another class of equity in our Co-op, roughly akin to non-voting preferred stock, and are available only to Invested Members. We plan to raise the remainder of our startup capital through this offering, and in doing so we will finance the business from within our community–without relying on bank financing. The minimum investment is just $500, and there are incentives for larger investments first at $5,000 and again for investments over $10,000. The total goal of $375,000 is equivalent to just 150 member-owner investing an average of $2,500 each. To put that into perspective, there are currently over 1,300 members of our Co-op. We can do this, and must do it together as a co-operative.
If you have any questions about the offering, or are ready to make an investment, please contact us at (512) 452-BEER or email invest@blackstar.coop. We ask that every member-owner able to make an investment do so today. After all, the sooner we reach our goal, the sooner we can open our brewpub!