Today we’d like to introduce you to Dustin Evans.
Hi Dustin, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
I grew up in central Texas in a household with 4 other siblings. When I turned 18, I thought I knew better than everyone else, so I went and joined the Army. After serving in Iraq, I got out and attended Texas State University in San Marcos, where I found 2 great loves in my life. The first was my wife, and the second was Craft Beer My father had coincidentally picked up homebrewing as a hobby, and that, coupled with the craft beer revolution in Texas, led us to kick around the idea of opening a brewery of our own. While I spent a little stint working in Tech in Austin, the idea of owning a craft brewery was too much for me to ignore, so I left Austin and went back to Central Texas to work in our family businesses and put together the concept for our Brewery. After a lot of searching, a million questions, and a ton of paperwork, my family and I opened Southern Roots Brewing Company in Waco, Texas. Since opening our Craft Brewery and Restaurant in Waco, we’ve opened a second location in Waxahachie in a restored Train Depot that was initially built in 1907; my wife and I have had 2 children (there’s nothing funnier than your wife telling you she’s pregnant while you’re trying to open a new business), and then we adopted 2 teenagers. We joke that we have 2 organic kids and 2 free-range kids. I have an incredibly supportive family and an amazing team, and I go to work every day doing a job I love alongside the most passionate people in the world. I am, however, not optimistic that the Cowboys will make it to the Superbowl this year.
Please talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned. Looking back, has it been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It’s always a challenging road. There is no “million dollars” idea. It’s always incremental. You have to accept that you make the wrong choice sometimes, hire the wrong people, and waste money with bad ideas it happens. And then, some things are simply out of your control; whether it’s a pandemic or a snowstorm, it comes with the territory. Breweries are also somewhat complicated. It’s a lot of moving pieces, many technical practices are required, and cities/municipalities are still learning how to regulate them. It is common to be delayed upon opening because a city inspector can’t quite wrap their head around your operation or to find that you bizarrely fall under some oversight procedure requiring additional public utilities fees. Then there’s the stuff no one could predict. We were delayed almost 6 months due to an improperly laid fiber optic cable in the wrong place. Shit happens.
Thanks for sharing that. So, you could tell us a bit more about your business.
We are Craft Brewery and Pizza restaurant with one goal in mind. Accessibility. We built our business to provide something for everyone, not just craft beer drinkers. It’s not uncommon to walk into one of our taprooms on a busy Saturday and see complete families, including the dog, enjoying themselves. What sets us apart is our team not only has a passion for the products they produce, all the way down to the pretzel and queso but their passion for our community and the stories we tell on their behalf. Most of our beer names tell a story, whether it’s the Alico Light Lager, which is named after the famed Alico building in Waco, or the Bessie Rye IPA in Waxahachie, which is named after Bessie Coleman, who grew up in a sharecropper family in Waxahachie before going on to be the first female African American pilot in the United States. Also, we love telling the story of other businesses: We make exclusive brands for select establishments, including restaurants, bars, and even a Motorplex. We create a product for entities to call their own and promote their brand, pint after pint.
Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs, or other resources you think our readers should check?
My favorite books are:
-An Army at Dawn
-Finite and Infinite Games
-The Battle Cry of Freedom
-My favorite podcasts are:
-The Fifth Column
-The Presidents Inbox
-Net Assessment
-and Anything by Dan Carlin
Contact Info:
- Website: southernrootsbrewingco.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/southernrootsbrewingco/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/southernrootsbrewing
