Surf City Still Works, Huntington Beach’s first craft distillery, has caught the perfect wave of growth.
Today, the company’s assortment of spirits sell through over 180 retail doors from San Diego to San Francisco and are available at over 50 restaurants and venues such as the Balboa Bay Resort and Disneyland.
The two-and-a-half-year-old business’s secret to success?
Cultivating a unique, coastal brand that resonates within the local community, according to founding partners and husband-wife duo Josh and Elena Kornoff, who are Surf City residents.
Their dedication to building the brand, and the craft distillery industry itself, earned the Kornoffs a nod in the emerging business category at the Business Journal’s Family- Owned Business Awards on Oct. 7 (see stories, pages 1, 4, and 8).
Every spirit is bottled and labelled with local artwork that speaks to the surf culture along the coast, and the Kornoffs contribute to similar causes including the Boardriders Foundation.
After all, “the focus on the environment, the ocean, the coast—that’s who we are,” Josh said. “We’re a surf-based brand.”
Grown Locally
The Kornoffs aren’t scaling their brand alone.
SCSW raised a $2.7 million funding round in August from some of the most-recognizable names in surf and apparel, including Bob McKnight, founder of Quiksilver Inc. and his son, Robbie.
Additional funds came from golf apparel firm TravisMathew’s co-founder Travis Brasher and president emeritus Ryan Ellis, as well as Bart and Dan DeClark, co-founders of Laguna Beach-based beverage maker Flavor Infusion International.
All of the investors are active advisors, too.
“We’re fortunate that Huntington Beach has some great brands that grew up here, and we’re hoping to replicate that success, working with our new advisors and investors who know how to build brands,” Josh said.
The Kornoffs have also been given a helping hand by local marketing exec Chris Van Dusen and his wife, Sara, who joined the distillery as partners earlier this year.
In addition to the new financial backers, the team has been able to add a head distiller and head of sales, which has been amazing, “because I’m here, speaking with you, and stuff is still getting distilled,” Josh laughed.
Emerging Industry
SCSW is part of the Craft Distillers Guild in Southern California, which came about after a pair of laws in 2016 and 2018 that loosened restrictions around craft distilling and selling spirits.
“That’s something California has done pretty darn well in terms of creating an industry that didn’t exist before, and creating jobs here,” Josh said.
While there are still restrictions on production capacity and selling rights, the state has proven attentive to distillery’s concerns amid the pandemic.
Most recently, the state allowed distillers to ship direct-to-consumers through the end of the year.
“It helped us survive,” Elena said.
Now, it’s something the craft distillery industry as a whole is pushing to make a permanent change.
There haven’t been reported problems around public safety and health, which bodes well for the industry and potential regulatory changes, Josh said.
Once an Entrepreneur
Josh and Elena describe SCSW as their third act.
Josh spent 15 years as a special effects supervisor in Hollywood, setting things on fire and blowing things up before the industry replaced live stunts with digitized special effects.
Meanwhile, Elena worked in sales and fell into a role managing licensing, shipping and logistics for beer and wine at Irvine-based importer G.K. Skaggs.
Josh went on to launch a custom drone and design manufacturer, Allied Drones, which sold to Washington D.C.-based drone software firm Measure in 2017.
The decision to start a craft distillery was a bit out of the blue, the couple admits.
Josh noticed a distillery plant during a vacation and became intrigued with the technical equipment and engineering principles involved in the process.
When Josh brought the idea to Elena, her first response was, “Are you sure? That’s a lot of paperwork.”
It’s also a good example of how Josh and Elena support each other: “Josh is the big picture guy. I pick up on the details,” she said.
They’ve certainly proved to be a winning team.
“I looked into the technical aspects, and I figured we’d learn the rest as we go,” Josh said. “Two and a half years later, we’ve made mistakes, learned from them and recovered.”
Spring Sippin’
A new SCSW tasting room and restaurant, which sits behind its existing location in a business park off Gothard Street, is expected to open in time for spring break next year.
Though the pandemic brought about unexpected delays, the team said construction has started and they’re excited to welcome locals and customers back.
In addition to the new digs, customers will have a chance to try a number of new drink items including beer, new bitters and liquors, and flavored seltzers.
It’ll be a busy fall for the SCSW team in the meantime, as it prepares seasonal gift packs with individual bottles and small samples of its spirits, expands sales channels and works with its advisors to scale the brand.
“It’s been a lot of hard work and a challenging year, but we’re no longer a two-person team,” Elena said. “We’ve got a great team behind us and we couldn’t do it alone.”
