Chamber Insider Blog

Spotlight on the Finalist: Brew LoCo

Thanks to Cathy Frye, co-owner of Brew LoCo, a local coffee shop in the Lansdowne Town Center. Check out their great coffee, tea and beer selection! 

 
 
 
Brew Loco – Cathy Frye
Finalist for Retailer of the Year

 

1.  What would it mean to you and your company to win a Small Business Award?

It’s great to be recognized for lots of hard work and innovative thinking, and a testament to the fantastic support Brew LoCo has received from its customer base. To be chosen by the Loudoun Chamber, with its diverse group of businesses and entrepreneurial talent, would be an honor.

2.  What business person has influenced you the most?

We have local heroes like Chris Burns of Old Ox, whose brewery was several months ahead of us during build out. Chris was a wonderful resource for all types of questions. Funny, while he was giving us a heads up on things to come, we were giving Old Ox a sense of accomplishment for things achieved. Sten Sellier of Beltway Brewing is another local hero of ours who encouraged us to enter Brew LoCo’s business plan in the Loudoun SBDC Small Business Competition a mere 10 days before the first deadline. The rest is history.

3.  If you weren’t running your own business, what would you be doing?

Cathy says she’d probably be running a no-kill shelter for dogs and Mary would continue working with children.

4.  What book are you reading right now?

Cathy’s reading the manuscript for Doors of Perception while editing it for artist Vladimir Kush (she never closed THE FRESH EYE, her editorial consultancy, when opening Brew LoCo) and Mary’s reading Anthony Bourdain’s Medium Raw. 

5.  What is your favorite app?

For business: Square enables us to go mobile and put our register system in a pocket. For fun: Words with Friends—we like words and everybody likes friends.

6.  If you had a full 24 hours off, and your family was out of town, what would you do?

Although it’d be tempting to catch up on some sleep after the last year of running full throttle, Mary & Cathy would be out visiting every new small brewery, cidery & coffee roastery that’s opened recently to find out when they’ll have their products in distribution and if it can make its way to Brew LoCo’s shelves. Cathy’s husband Rob would probably be the designated driver, one reason we refer to him as Brew LoCo’s “hero on call.”

7.  What is the smallest thing that has had the largest impact on your business?

We work with lots of small things like tea leaves, coffee beans, beer grain, hop cones and yeast cells. These little guys are small but mighty, just like Brew LoCo.