When Shane Piper first began brewing homemade kombucha about five years ago, it was limited to a 1-gallon container in one room of his house. This setup didn’t last long. After experimenting with different flavors, he began expanding into another room to make space for additional containers.
“The kombucha moved from the office to the sunroom, and then it merged from the bookshelf it was on to a commercial shelf,” Shane’s wife, Annette Piper, said.
As he started brewing and experimenting more, Shane began selling his product to interested customers who found out about it either online or through word of mouth. This is how the business operated for a while until Shane sustained a serious injury that kept him away from his day job for about seven months.
To occupy himself during that downtime, Shane decided to try to sell his kombucha in the Orcutt farmers’ market. But to do so he needed a health permit, and after attempting to jump through the hoops necessary to obtain one, Shane said he switched gears and went after a state wholesale license instead.
After obtaining this license, Shane was able to start selling his kombucha in restaurants. Near the end of 2017, Al-Pho on Main Street in Santa Maria became the first restaurant to sell the brew, which is now also served at Pizzeria Bello Forno in Old Town Orcutt.
Shane said he wants to get into four or five local restaurants total, but for now his and Annette’s focus is on their own kombucha bar, Piper’s Kombucha Brew, which will hold its grand opening at 195 S. Broadway in Orcutt on Aug. 31.
When the Pipers began leasing this space in January, they originally planned on using it to brew and store kombucha for distribution. But after adding certain appliances to serve this initial purpose, they realized it wouldn’t be too much more work to turn the space into a bar that people can visit to sip on a glass of kombucha or fill up a growler to take home.
Shane said they plan to offer seven different types of kombucha on tap for the grand opening, but normally they will offer six flavors. There will be four main flavors—including a mango-pineapple-ginger kombucha, and a plain, unflavored kombucha—many of which are made with local fruit. They will also serve additional flavors that rotate throughout the year, depending on which fruit is in season.
The space itself will have chairs, tables, and benches where customers can sit, relax, and snack on popcorn from the bar’s popcorn maker. Annette said they also plan to have a collection of vinyl records and a record player available for customers to put on the music they want.
“We’re hoping to have a space where you can come and hang out and if [customers] want to bring in their lunch and have kombucha, they can, or order from somewhere and have it delivered,” Annette said.
It’s been a long process to get to this point, but to Shane, making kombucha is a labor of love, and he and Annette are excited to take this next step.
“This is our first little adventure into the business world, and we’re definitely learning a lot. It’s very cool,” Annette said.
Highlights
• A memorial event for Jaycob Murillo is being held between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. at Rod Rodenburger Park on Aug. 31. Murillo passed away last year from an overdose. Fighting Back Santa Maria Valley and other groups will set up booths with information on substance abuse and overdose prevention.
• Santa Maria city staff presented City Council with its fourth annual quarterly financial report. According to the report, while city revenues are up, the city’s poverty rate is around 18.6 percent, which is higher than the county and statewide rates at 14.2 percent and 13.3 percent, respectively.
Staff Writer Zac Ezzone wrote this week’s Spotlight. Send information to spotlight@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Aug 29 – Sep 5, 2019.
