Maui Brewing wins Small Business Persons of the Year award (check this photo of Garrett Marrero with Mike Pence and Ivanka Trump)

Maui Brewing Co. continues to kill it. Love their beer. Always appreciate their consistent quality. Definitely dig their labeling and branding, recognize their cool philanthropy and constantly cheers their commitment to eco-friendly business practices. It pleases me to think that Maui Brewing was on pace to brew 45,000 barrels (bbls) in 2016 (never heard those final numbers) and that the company recently expanded to Oahu with a restaurant in Waikiki with plans to open a second restaurant at Alexander and Baldwin’s Lau Hala Shops in Kailua.

But hey, did you know Maui Brewing (headquartered in Kihei, Hawaii) wasn’t always this big and cool? The company actually started as a small 7-bbl brewery in 2005 with financial help from the Small Business Administration. The SBA is a U.S. government agency that provides support to entrepreneurs. The agency’s mission can be summarized via the three Cs — capital, contracts and counseling

Well, I bring all this up because as part of National Small Business Week (which is this week), Linda McMahon, administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration, announced this year’s Small Business Person(s) of the Year and other national award winners at a ceremony and reception yesterday at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington, D.C. And who won that top prize?

Drum roll please (from the press release)….

“It is my extreme pleasure to announce that husband-and-wife business partners Garrett and Melanie Marrero of Maui Brewing Company are this year’s national Small Business Persons of the Year,” McMahon said. “Their innovative spirit, with assistance from the SBA and its lending and partners, created a thriving business and hundreds of jobs for their community.”

Now the lede makes sense, right? Maui Brewing will be honored on Thursday, May 4, with other winners from Hawaii at the 30th Annual Statewide SBA Awards Luncheon at the Pomaikai Ballroom at Dole Cannery. Today, Maui brewing is the largest craft beer producer in Hawaii and deservedly so. Congrats on the award. Oh, I guess we should mention Maui Brewing’s Garrett Marrero and Melanie Oxley (Marrero’s wife) were also named the 2017 Small Business Persons of the Year for the State of Hawaii in late April. Back to the press release:

“Garrett and Melanie have shown impressive growth, expanding in size, sales and scope of their business,” McMahon said. “By 2007, increasing demand led them to open a second location in Lahaina with a 25-barrel capacity, giving them the ability to provide brewery tours and making it a tourist destination as well. By 2013, they were producing more than 19,000 barrels of beer a year, boosting revenues to more than $10 million. They have since expanded with a new 18,000 square-foot restaurant that opened in Oahu last year, and new brewpubs and eateries are scheduled to open later this year. By the end of 2018, Maui Brewing Company will employ a workforce of 700.”