In the Maryland suburbs north of D.C., Julie Verratti brings experience in politics and Small Business Administration (SBA) policy to Denizens Brewing, which she co-owns with wife Emily Bruno and brother-in-law Jeff Ramirez. As such, she’s become a sage resource for fellow brewery operators trying to navigate their give-and-take relationships with government. Here, Verratti speaks with Jamie Bogner about the importance of building trust with local lawmakers—and how breweries can speak out on the kind of economic relief that will help them get through the pandemic.
CBB // You spearheaded your own personal lobbying efforts with the legislature—that is a skill that not a lot of brewery owners go into business with. What were some of the first steps you took when trying to get a piece of legislation through in the state legislature to help make this change that would help your business?
JV // One, you have to look at jurisdictional power. What is it that you’re trying to do? And what are the rules that either don’t exist yet—or are in place that you need to take away—to allow you to do what you need to do? Look at who controls those rules. With all things alcohol-related, it’s a heavily regulated industry, from local to state to federal and sometimes even municipality, on top of even county levels. There are a lot of layers to it. We tried to be as nuanced as possible, so it wouldn’t turn as many heads and start ginning up opposition. So I thought, “Okay, let’s try to get a bill passed that only impacts Montgomery county.” Then the first thing I did was try to get buy-in from the local county officials, even though all alcohol laws are passed on the state level. But you want to get buy-in, and why wouldn’t a county official want to support a legal change that would allow for business growth in their community?