Tom Keifer Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

After almost two months since closing its doors, the Bloomery Sweetshine Distillery in Jefferson County reopened this weekend after a successful cry for help to West Virginia lawmakers.

During this year’s legislative session, the Bloomery Sweetshine Distillery closed after years of being classified as a retail liquor store. The distillery owners claimed this as a misclassification and said it was costing them too much money, killing their business. The distillery closed in early February and the owners said they wouldn’t reopen until the issue was addressed by lawmakers.

“It was an overwhelming heartache. It was so drastic for us to make that decision,” said Linda Losey, co-founder and one of three co-owners of Bloomery Sweetshine, “You know we’ve been funding the distillery for three years out of pocket and trying to get to profitability, and it was really affecting our relationships, our hearts to keep opening and losing and losing and losing because we absolutely, absolutely love what we do, and what we do for this community and for our fans and how they react to us. So for us to, to make the decision to close, we had to make it for the financial reasons, but it really was a drastic decision, and to put seventeen people out of work, that’s what was the killer for us.”

The Bloomery Sweetshine owners estimate it has attracted more than 50,000 tourists to West Virginia since it opened in 2011, some of which were from outside the US. All of its liqueurs are made on site and by hand, and most of the fruits and nuts used in the drinks are grown on site or are sourced within the local community. The distillery offers tastings and the option of buying their products on the premises.

Rob Losey is co-owner and in charge of sales and marketing. He says the decision to close the distillery surprised their local legislators.

“I think that it was also, it was received well by every one of our legislators,” Rob noted, “and that trying to figure out a way to help us, and really to help our county. I mean, one of the things that we do is we bring in a number of tourists, and you know, we’re someplace that people from out of state find as a destination, so they come to visit us and then they spend some time in the county and leave some tax revenue behind. And I think that, that was recognized and that we were, you know, that we were a bit of a shining star in our area, and it was something not to be lost.”

In light of the news of the distillery’s closing, legislators began putting together a bill that would help Bloomery Sweetshine and other distilleries and mini-distilleries like it. Senate Bill 574 was the answer. The bill will reclassify distilleries in the state and give some tax and management fee relief to those owners. It would also raise the production level allowed for mini-distilleries.

Governor Tomblin signed Senate bill 574 on March 31^st and it will go into effect on June 12^th.

The owners of Bloomery Sweetshine Distillery were elated by the news, but Tom Kiefer, co-founder and co-owner says their closing was not a ruse.

“We didn’t close the doors to send a message that was unintended. We closed the doors, cause we couldn’t afford to stay open, so I don’t agree that a business should close down just to make a stand and fight for reduced taxes,” Kiefer explained, “I mean for us it was, as Linda had said earlier a do or die situation, and the fact that we were dying on the vine cause we always had to supplement every month the business that occurred in the tasting room, just was not an affordable way to continue on.”

Linda says it was ultimately the response from their fans that drove the message home to legislators.

“One of the strengths we had behind us was our fan base, and so if a small business is absolutely feeling the pinch of government regulations and it’s killing the business, then I don’t disagree that you have to somehow contact the legislators and get help, because it’s nearly impossible to do it without the legislative action that is required to put laws into effect that will help the small businesses,” Linda said.

During Bloomery Sweetshine Distillery’s reopening Saturday, it offered tastings to more than 350, most of which visited the distillery for the first time. The owners say they are satisfied with the response from lawmakers and are excited for the effect of Senate Bill 574 in June.

Next year, the owners plan to push lawmakers for another bill, one that will allow them to sell their products on Sundays.

Bloomery Sweetshine Distillery located in Jefferson County has attracted around 50,000 tourists since it opened in 2011. While Jefferson County has been called the leader in tourism and economic impact in the state, some say the rural economy is struggling, and this distillery could be helping to revive it.

Allison Manderino is one of the fun-tenders, or bartenders, at the Bloomery Sweetshine Distillery. She drives two-in-a-half hours every weekend from Pennsylvania to the eastern panhandle just to work weekends serving drinks.

“You ask anyone here who works here, we all have the same answer, we all love each other,” said Manderino, “and Tom and Linda, our owners, we want them to succeed so much that we will do whatever we need. And if that means that, you know, I drive and live in a different state every weekend, that’s okay. I’ll do it, because I want to see this through, and I know we’re going places, and I just want to help them get there in whatever way I can.”

Bloomery Sweetshine Distillery began after co-founders, Linda Losey and Tom Keifer went on a trip to Italy in 2010. While there, they tasted Limoncello, a very popular lemon liqueur and wanted to replicate it once back in the US. After scouting out various locations, they found a rural spot in Charles Town, where they began to build their business in an old bloomery, or ironworks mill, from the 1700s that was in disrepair.

“So we thought, why not settle in West Virginia,” remembered Losey, “and I came out here, and I texted Tom, I’m like, I’m going to meet the craigslist killer, and he said where are you and what are you doing, and I said, don’t worry if I like it, you’re in trouble, if I don’t like it, it’s no worries. And I liked it, and so here we are, on 12 acres in Charles Town, West Virginia, growing lemons and Hawaiian ginger and raspberries and black walnuts and pumpkins.”

Losey says she’s amazed at the success of the distillery in such a short time, but attributes that success to the fun-tenders who always try to connect to each patron individually and make each customer feel welcome.

Allison Manderino as the Dancing Lemon, the distillery’s mascot.

“Everybody brings their own sort of quirkiness to the team,” Losey noted, “and if you come and get a tasting on a Friday and have one fun-tender, and you come back in on a Saturday, you’re going to get a completely different experience.”

Tom Keifer, the other co-founder, says he thinks it’s the naturalness of the product that’s attractive and keeps bringing in customers.

“Because we have only whole ingredients, there’s nothing artificial, no coloring, no dyes, no flavors, anything like that,” Keifer said, “And there’s this robustness that comes with that. I mean when you taste the ginger you’ll see, I mean, it tastes like liquid ginger root, and when you taste our pumpkin spice, it tastes like grandma’s pumpkin pie. It’s just awesome.”

Bloomery Sweetshine Distillery grows most of its ingredients on-site, but since its products are in such high demand, it gets some ingredients locally in Charles Town and Martinsburg, but some come from farmers as far away as California.

It’s open only four days a week, but the owners say they average 300 customers every weekend. Their products have won American and International awards, and have seen at least one tourist from every state in the US, as well as a handful of other countries.

Annette Gavin is the CEO of the Jefferson County Convention and Visitor’s Bureau. She says the distillery is definitely making an impact on Jefferson County’s economy.

“They didn’t just decide to do this, develop it, and, you know, wait for people to come. They market it; they market the heck out of it. You know, they get out there, and it’s literally stomping the pavement to let people know,” said Gavin.

Gavin also says the Distillery is in a perfect location being so close to Washington, DC and Baltimore.

With an array of flavors to choose from and an ever growing number in tourists, the Bloomery Sweetshine Distillery continues to do well in Jefferson County.

Tag: Tom Keifer

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