August 28, 2025 • 35 mins
For Sue Rigler, owner of Hundred Mile Brewing Company, transforming passion into purpose is her reality.
From an ASU microbiology graduate to award-winning brewery owner, Sue’s journey began with a moment of inspiration in 2014 that sparked a vision she pursued despite zero restaurant experience.
In this episode, Sue shares the highs and lows of entrepreneurship, scaling to 45 employees overnight, building systems for accountability, and growing leadership confidence. She compares running a business to “birthing a fifth child,” offering a candid look at the challenges behind the success.
Beyond brewing, Sue highlights the power of community impact, from scholarship fundraisers to water drives and her creative innovations like water taxis to ASU games.
Tune in for a story of passion, practical wisdom, and turning dreams into reality, preferably with a craft beer in hand.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome to the Confidence Curve with Ashley and
Rick Bowers, where personal andprofessional journeys define
the art of scaling withconfidence.
Whether you're a businessleader navigating change or
someone seeking personal growth,this podcast offers insights
and actionable advice to helpyou thrive.
Now let's dive into today'sconversation with our incredible
(00:26):
guest.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Welcome to the Confidence Curve with Apex GTS
Advisors.
My name is Ashley Bowers andI'm here with my husband and
co-host, rick Bowers.
We're happy and excited to bewith you guys today to discuss
the 100 Mile Brewery.
So we have Sue here with us andwe are so thankful that you
decided to join us on ourpodcast today.
We appreciate your time andcan't wait to get to know a
(00:50):
little bit more about you andthe curve that you've been on to
grow the brewery over the lastseveral years.
So, if you want, just kick usoff with a little bit about you
and about your company.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
Sure Well, thank you Ashley and Rick and I didn't
know you guys were married, yourcompany?
Speaker 2 (01:04):
Sure Well, thank you Ashley and Rick and I didn't
know you guys were married.
Speaker 3 (01:11):
There we go, so here we go.
I just learned somethingFabulous.
So, yes, I, my name is SueRiggler and I'm owner of 100
Mile Brewing Company and weopened in December 2022.
So we are going into almostgoing into our third year three
years open, which is no smallfeat for somebody that had no
idea how to run a restaurant.
When I got into it, I wanted toopen a brewery and now we have
a full-fledged, full-on,full-service restaurant
(01:31):
production facility, the breweryand an event space.
So a lot to take on.
When you know you got to sinkor swim, right?
Yeah, absolutely yeah.
So I've been enjoying andlearning the process.
Every day is a differentexperience.
When you're in hospitality, nodays are the same.
You whack a lot of moles, onegoes down and another one pops
(01:52):
up.
So that's just a day in the lifeof an entrepreneur and
hospitality brewery owner.
Absolutely.
Speaker 4 (02:00):
So you and I have a little bit in common.
We both grew up in Iowa, bothwent to Arizona State and kind
of from there you decided tokind of make this plunge.
We met at, I think, class 6 ofthe Alumni Leadership Institute
yes to the brewery for lunch,and we talked a little bit and
(02:24):
you had said you'd gone fromzero to 45 employees in such a
short period of time and it'skind of a shock doing that.
So tell us a little bit aboutkind of what was that like?
Speaker 3 (02:35):
Well, I think, first of all, both being from Iowa and
getting out of Iowa, we're bothsuper smart people, right?
Speaker 4 (02:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (02:43):
So, at least not right now, because it's the
middle of the summer and it's alittle bit hot here.
But, um, yeah, I came to.
I was a microbiology major atASU and I had I've from Iowa.
I was very Iowa nice.
We had a lot of block partiesand pig roasts and just a lot of
community events andneighborhood events and, um, you
(03:05):
know, it's like I said, it'scommunity.
So I've always had thathospitable kind of entrepreneur
spirit and, for I didn't drinkbeer when I was 10 years old,
but I did have a Budweisert-shirt that I wore a lot when I
was 10 years old.
So I kind of had this affinityfor beverages.
I collected beer cans.
Yeah, my dad built me a shelfjust for my beer can collection
(03:27):
and so, between the science, mymicrobiology degree and kind of
my affinity for hospitality andcraft beer, I saw a microscope
in a craft beer or in a craftbrewery one day and kind of this
aha moment and I talked to thebrewer and it was like, from
that moment in 2014, I neverstopped thinking about opening a
(03:50):
brewery.
I was so passionate aboutnobody nobody was going to talk
me out of it.
I had no idea what I was doing,but I managed to get the
funding and the location, thegreat prime location in tempe,
right on the north side of TempeTown Lake.
So all the stars aligned and mydream has come true yeah it's
amazing.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
It's so amazing.
Speaker 4 (04:09):
I love all of that yeah, I collected beer cans as a
kid too, but it was becausethere was a five cent refund on
them and that was good moneyback in the day because you
could go go around and do that.
Speaker 3 (04:20):
I think it's still five cents, isn't it?
Speaker 4 (04:21):
it could be yeah.
I'm just happy that we don'thave that here.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
Very much so.
So opening it back in Decemberof 2022, what was your vision at
that time?
And then, how does it compareto what you've achieved today?
Speaker 3 (04:35):
That's a great question.
Going back to December 22 andlooking at what I've created, I
think I nailed it.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
I really do.
Speaker 3 (04:44):
Because I'm all about community and being a Sun Devil
and loving the city of Tempe.
I have so much support from thecity that I could not have
thought of a better or dreamt ofa more prime, perfect location
for me.
So community giving back myclientele is we have so many
regulars.
(05:05):
It's a very I hear the wordvibe all the time and welcoming
all the time.
100 Mile is where you keep yourbeer freshest from production.
So I don't want my beer totravel any more than 100 Miles
and so I want to keep it local,super fresh and super local.
And I dreamt of my.
My dream is to have fitlifestyle.
(05:25):
I'm a runner, so 100 miles hasnothing to do with running, it's
about fresh beer.
But I do have a running club onsunday mornings at 8 30 so I've
incorporated my running.
Running and beer are my twofavorite things, you know, so I
kind of has a goodcounterbalance, so it is good I
run to the finish line and havea beer.
I mean, what more could you want?
Speaker 2 (05:47):
Absolutely, that's awesome.
Speaker 4 (05:49):
We run to the store to get more beer.
I guess would be the extent ofmy running.
I'm not, definitely not arunner, but I do enjoy beer.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
Yeah, there's beer.
There's two kinds of beer runsright Beer run to the store and
you run a 10K and have a beer.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
What I love about that answer.
I'm currently listening to thebook the Gap in the Game and
it's talking a lot about thepsychology of entrepreneurs and
success and overachievers andhow we tend to always measure
ourselves by where we're going,and that's why so many,
statistically, don't everachieve happiness.
Right, they're in that wehaven't had enough yet mentality
(06:24):
and you know the things that goalong with that and how, if you
want to truly achieve happiness, you measure success by where
you come, like that, that gainthat you've already had, and
your entire answer waseverything that you achieved,
which was just amazing anddefinitely something that people
should inspire.
Speaker 3 (06:39):
To be able to look at it from that perspective thank
you for saying that, because notevery day the whack-a-mole
sometimes you get frustratedabout that happiness Absolutely.
Speaker 4 (06:51):
After we had a conversation the other day, I
went to the website and wasreading the stories on the
website too about the originalowner of that building B and all
of the stories connected there,and so I don't know that.
I remember looking at thepicture in the bar from your
window in Manzi, looking back atthat direction.
So next time I'm in I have tolook for that.
Speaker 3 (07:11):
Right, they have a picture on the bar, a framed
picture, I took in.
I'm going to tell kind of alittle bit.
I'm giving my age up here, butin 1982, when I was a freshman
at ASUU, I lived in the door ofManzanita.
It was 15 stories high, so Ilived on the 13th floor and I
took a picture facing north outof those, you know, those crappy
(07:31):
little Kodak they were papercameras that you manually wound
and then you sent them in fordeveloping.
But so I just I took a picturefacing north and the building
that we currently occupy rightnow, 100 Mile Brewing.
It was built in 1974.
So the building you can see itfrom Manzanita, my dorm room.
(07:53):
So I found it just a year ago.
Two years ago, when I wasmoving my parents out, I was
looking through old photo albumsand I saw Manzanita with the
triangle windows, so it's justan iconic building, and I'm like
, wait, that's Manzanita.
And then I looked at it.
I had it blown up and mybuilding, the brewery building,
is in that picture.
So way back in 1982, it'salmost like serendipitous that I
(08:15):
had this revelation, that I wasgoing to, you know, open a
brewery right there in thatlocation, that's amazing.
What are some of the surprisesor the challenges that you've
kind of come across and had toovercome in the last few years?
(08:36):
Oh geez, where do I start?
Being an entrepreneur is it'sthe greatest thing and it's very
stressful.
So all of us kind of allentrepreneurs you know we're
horrible employees, we'reunemployable really, so we have
to create our own jobs and becreative.
So really the hardest thing isfor me was learning the
restaurant business and managing40 employees and putting
systems.
(08:57):
We're doing this overhaul rightnow, really not an overhaul,
we're implementing it because wenever had it to overhaul, but
it's really to put in systems,and when I mean systems is we
have a regimen of puttingboundaries and holding people
accountable and it's really it'sa lot of work.
It's very painful because wenever had that in the first
couple years, because basicallyI had a friend say you know, I
(09:19):
said she's another fellowbrewery owner and she goes
you're not, I feel like I'mdrinking water from a fire hose.
And she said to me well, you'renot drinking water from a fire
hose, you're free falling froman airplane and I have skydived
twice in my life and I'm likeyou are absolutely right,
because this is exactly how itfeels everything happened so
fast in that first year.
(09:39):
I didn't know really what I wasdoing.
I just held on and had otherpeople guide and it was very
fast, very quick andfree-falling from an airplane.
So, yeah, that is now.
The parachute is open.
It's a little bit.
I can think more.
So now, in thinking and seeing,looking back in the two years
(10:00):
of history, is you have to setsystems up so people can be held
accountable and we call itdon't know, don't care.
So don't know is shame on me asa business owner.
People can't read my mind, so Ihave to tell them, I have to
train them, and then you trainthem a couple times and if
(10:20):
they're still not getting, themessage is that I don't care,
and that's when theuncomfortable conversations come
in, absolutely.
Speaker 4 (10:27):
So a lot, of, a lot of organizations rely on, like,
an external business coach, andyou mentioned that the other day
when we were talking what havebeen some of the big things that
have been their aha moments, oryeah, I do need to work on that
for you.
Speaker 3 (10:40):
You know what his name is, david Scott Peters.
He's a restaurant coach and heis located he he has clients all
over the United States andactually I think he has one in
Columbia, so it's outside of theUS as well.
And ironically, he rose onTempe Town Lake every day, which
is right next door.
I mean, he's local, so he's beenin the restaurant several times
and I'm going through hisprogram and his programs is what
(11:02):
I'm tackling right now issetting these systems and
holding people accountable, um,but one of the one of the
take-home messages is he has, um, all these spreadsheets so you
have to fill out for daily salesreports, waste trackers, um,
and then.
But the one that really hit mewas a labor allotment and it's
like budgeting you have to thepnls, which I have learned how
(11:25):
to read, and but backtracking onlabor allotment, your front of
house and back of house, becauselabor is your most expensive
thing.
So you really have tounderstand it, um, and not copy
and paste your schedule.
So you give your, you give youremployees, your managers, a
budget and you work back.
So kind of a light bulb went onwhen I was going through the
spreadsheets and manuallyentering these.
So kind of a light bulb went onwhen I was going through the
spreadsheets and manuallyentering these numbers.
(11:46):
It kind of made more sense.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
I remember in high school my first job was at a
restaurant.
It was a pizza restaurant and Iwas always just really geeky
about business and grew up infamily-owned businesses and such
and I always wanted to do theirend of year or end of day
paperwork for the managerbecause I liked going through
and figuring out the I know,figuring out the labor
percentage and like looking atall the numbers.
(12:10):
I have a job for you, and solike at 16, finally, when I
could drive, I because I wasn'tallowed to stay clocked in
because we would then go overour labor allocation and so I
would have to like clock out.
But I couldn't drive and so myparents like I'm not taking you
back just so you can clock infor an hour to do paperwork like
(12:30):
this is insane.
And so once I could drive, Iwas so excited because I could
clock out, go home and then comeback at closing and then do the
paperwork.
Later I figured out I was doingthe manager's job, but at that
point I didn't.
I felt like it was a gift thatthey were giving me every time
for me to be able to figure outthe labor issues.
Speaker 3 (12:46):
Ashley, you are a special person there's a word
for it.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
That's great.
So you have achieved so much,so much recognition from the
state and the city andeverything you know
Businesswoman of the Year allthese different accolades what
does that mean to you?
What does that drive you?
Speaker 3 (13:08):
Does it give you a sense of satisfaction, all the
above, or how do you feel it?
Certainly I'm.
I'm honored to.
We got in 2023.
We were named one of the top 10usa today the top 10 new craft
breweries in the us, which, um,after just opening to be
recognized from, you know, usatoday.
And then in 2024, hundred milebrewing was recognized as small
business of the year.
We won that award in tempe,which was even to be nominated,
(13:32):
and then getting down to thefinalists and actually going up
and accepting the award was um,gave me a little bit of
goosebumps, you know.
And then um, just this pastyear in april, I was given the
award.
It was nominated, and then umgot the award for businesswoman
of the Year in Tempe for 2025,which I had to make sure that
they had a check to make surethey were calling the right
(13:54):
person up.
But I mean just looking back.
You know, first of all, it's anhonor and I take that very
seriously as a business woman,as an entrepreneur and owner of
a business in Tempe, that I'mnot only representing my brand
and my company, I'm representingthe entire city when guests
come in because we're right, bySky Harbor we actually have
(14:17):
people's first impressions ofTempe and we also, you know're
their last impression as well.
So it's all-encompassing and Itake it very seriously to, you
know, just give the bestpossible customer experience and
hospitality that we can.
And then to get back to thecity of Tempe, which I've done
some.
We just did a Hope water driveand proceeds, a bottled water
(14:42):
drive that the city uses as atool to go out in the streets
and talk to the unsheltered andhomeless, to engage in
conversations and see if theywant help.
And then they have someprograms to help.
I've given to the Pat TillmanFoundation Pat's Run.
We've done Alyssa Serenade'sshe was a former ASU right,
(15:04):
she's a phenomenal human being.
And we get back to her legacyfoundation and then Sun Devil
Family Charities, just to name acouple.
So, yeah, it's important to meto get back and to be a role
model, even though it's hard to.
I'm still learning myself.
Speaker 2 (15:24):
I think the part of that being a lifelong learner in
the process like allows peopleto follow you a little bit
easier to write.
It brings some humility andvulnerability to the
conversation and it's it'sauthentic, it's real yeah yeah.
Speaker 3 (15:38):
I think you know we were all in this together, kind
of right, and if I can helpsomebody out, because I've been
helped out a lot by past mentorsand friends and they're still
my mentors.
But you know, life is too short.
You know, and I always say it'sbeer, I mean literally we have
burgers and beer.
It's not life insurance.
Sorry for all the lifeinsurance people out there
(16:00):
watching this.
Speaker 4 (16:02):
Your tacos are pretty good, though, too.
Speaker 2 (16:09):
No, I used to say that all the time, like when I
was at the real estate companyfor 10 years.
You know people would befreaking out.
Like we're selling real estate,we are not curing brain cancer,
like it's gonna be okay if thiswaits 10 minutes, like we're
gonna be all right, that's it, Ialways have to step back and
remind myself, um, you know, tostep back.
Speaker 3 (16:22):
I go out in the parking lot a lot and look at
the building and I just step.
You know, watch, I just look atthe building and go, you've
created this.
You know your team from this1974, dungy, gross, ugly,
sanford and Son type junkyard ofa building that we've
transformed into somethingbeautiful, so I'm proud of that.
(16:43):
You just have to step backsometimes, take a deep breath
and go.
Speaker 4 (16:48):
it's all going to be okay, absolutely yeah, alyssa
was the first person, kind of asI was getting back into all of
the ASU things.
So I was part of the Sunday 100and so she greeted me when I
came to the event on that andthen we kind of hit it off and I
think that was part of how Igot onto the board and counsel
for the Alumni Association andthen the last six years I've was
part of how I got onto theboard and counsel for the Alumni
Association and then the lastsix years I've been part of the
(17:11):
Alumni Association and so shewas a part of that and I think
it was almost.
She was one of the first peoplethat had the idea to do the
Leadership Institute for ASU, soshe was involved in so much
stuff with the AlumniAssociation.
Speaker 3 (17:26):
So our beer, hey Buddy, it's a peanut butter
stout and Alyssa's favorite beerwas a peanut butter stout.
So we were celebrating herbirthday two years ago, which is
on August 23rd it's thisSaturday but we got together
with friends and had acelebration of her and then we
came up with the idea that weare going to brew a peanut
(17:48):
butter stout.
So you know, her friends go,can you do that?
And I'm like I own a brewery ofcourse, of course I can so, and
she would always call everybodyhey buddy, hey buddy.
So um, we have a beer on tap, umfresh batch just came on a
couple days ago, but it's heybuddy, and um a dollar a pint
goes back to her scholarship.
Speaker 2 (18:07):
Oh, that's amazing yeah.
Speaker 4 (18:09):
And then she has the golf tournament that we do
through ASU in March as well,and so that's a fun tournament
too.
Speaker 2 (18:17):
So you mentioned a little bit about accountability
and the people aspect of thebusiness, right alluding to that
side of it.
As you think about that, whathave been some of the hardest
parts as far as being anemployer and a leader for people
, but then also like a businessowner and making sure that
you're, you know, looking outfor the company as well as
(18:38):
bringing the people along forthat ride?
Speaker 3 (18:40):
That's a great question and it's something that
I have learned how to learn.
Okay, it's a struggle becauseyou know I'm Iowa, nice, and I
want to be nice to everybody,and you know, but at some point
you have to separate.
It's a business At the end ofthe day.
You know I'm in this, I have tokeep my doors open and I have
to be financially responsibleand I have to hold people
(19:01):
accountable.
So, and another thing that wehave set up is our core values
and some people just don't fitin in the core values and that's
when don't know, don't care.
So it's, I just have toseparate.
It's kind of a line down themiddle where you're starting to
get in that gray area about.
You know, you're stepping overthe don't know, don't care.
(19:23):
And it makes it easier to havethese uncomfortable
conversations because I'velearned document.
You know we put systems in placenow.
So if you follow the systems,there's a clear path.
So I'm not stumbling overmyself or, um, I still stumble
over myself, but, um, yeah, just, is it good for the company?
Is this person does it?
(19:44):
Do they have the best interestof the company?
And it's just all thesequestions that you have to ask
and unfortunately, sometimes ithurts.
Nobody likes to let people go,and then I always say too we use
the phrase a lot is the rightbus, different seat.
So we try to put people in.
They're good people and arehard workers, but maybe they're
not in the best position.
(20:05):
Like they're not, we put themin a management or leadership
role and they just, they're moreof a worker bee kind of.
So um, just try to you try, Itry my best to put people in
positions of strength yeah, no,absolutely.
Speaker 2 (20:17):
I would say when people are like it's so hard to
you know, let somebody go, or tohave a difficult conversation,
it's like if it ever gets easy,you've kind of lost the right to
do it.
Oh yeah, like it should bedifficult it should be a hard
thing to make a decision on.
And um, yes, the process helpsbecause then you're sitting down
and no one's surprised by theconversation.
Everyone knows that we've had alot of work to get there.
That doesn't make the actualconversation no, it doesn't.
Speaker 3 (20:41):
That was a great question so how?
Speaker 4 (20:44):
how has your leadership style changed over
the last few years and where doyou see yourself as a leader in
the future?
Speaker 3 (20:54):
Another good question .
I have seen I'm more confidentnow.
Speaker 4 (20:58):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (20:59):
Much more confident in running a company, running a
restaurant, and I love themarketing aspect of it.
I've always you know, beer andmarketing, I mean, how fun is
that?
But all the other the payrolland human resources and all that
kind of stuff but I'm just, I'mmore confident in decisions and
I'm able to make decisions nowbased on numbers and facts, and
(21:21):
a lot of numbers don't lie.
So it's kind of and Iunderstand them a lot better.
So I think my level ofconfidence has really grown and
that affects my team, because Ithink in the beginning I was
pretty scared.
I didn't know what I was doingand how can you take someone
serious that's scared.
Now it's like come on, people,let's have fun.
(21:44):
This is beer, you know.
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (21:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (21:46):
Look at what this gift we're offering to the
community.
So it's kind of um turning.
I don't think I was a goodleader in the beginning, because
I was being led, because I wasso new and green yeah now I'm,
I'm more confident.
Speaker 2 (22:01):
Do you saw some of those original core people with
you?
We do do.
Speaker 3 (22:05):
There are Caitlin.
I'm going to give her a shoutout right here.
Go in and see Caitlin.
She's also from Iowa, okay, andshe's been there since the very
beginning.
And we have one of our linecooks for us.
Yeah, he's been with us.
I've known him for 10 years.
So, yeah, there's turnover inhospitality and then in, you
know, just opening up, we werenew.
(22:26):
So, again, it's not a fit foreverybody and yeah.
So I think we you know, I saidthat I'm doing this not
transformation butimplementation.
So we now have a solidmanagement team a general
manager, two AGMs, we're hiringa front of house and a kitchen
manager.
We have an event.
So I have a bench, I have ateam, yeah, and I have a
(22:49):
leadership coach that is helpingmy management team on some
fundamentals.
So I think we're set up forsome good success coming up here
.
Speaker 4 (23:01):
Yeah, the confidence really comes from all of those
uncomfortable situations, and Ican't think of much more
uncomfortable than jumping outof an airplane.
So you kind of had thatuncomfortableness as you go
through this process and that'swhere that confidence.
So that definitely is somethingfrom a confidence standpoint.
Have you gotten to your idealrole yet?
Speaker 3 (23:26):
My ideal role of not having to be in there every day.
No, you know, and that's thewhole team mentality.
Now it's like leading anddelegation is a huge one too.
Yeah, that is definitelysomething that leaders have a
hard time doing, but the bestleaders are good at delegating.
(23:48):
When you're in a new leadershiprole, at least for me.
I've learned what micromanagingis.
I had to have conversationswith my managers.
They would tell me not tomicromanage and I'm like what do
you mean so?
Speaker 2 (24:01):
I literally had to ask him what micromanaging was.
Speaker 3 (24:04):
And now it's like if you give somebody a task, let
them fail?
Yeah.
And don't you know, don't youtell them to do something, or
ask them to do something?
Give them a deadline, yeah yeahand check up.
Follow up on the deadline threedays before.
That's not micromanaging.
Speaker 2 (24:18):
But if you do their job like, oh, I've learned yes,
yeah, we use a model stages ofgrowth and it talks about how,
like, the ceo should never jumpinto the supportive category.
Right, and supportive, bydefinition, is kind of that
doing the job with them or forthem, um, and kind of like what
that can do.
Because from an employee'sperspective, they look at it
(24:38):
twofold one, I'm not trusted todo the job, but also, like, does
the ceo not have anythingbetter to do than what I was
hired to do?
Like what's happening?
right so really causes a lot ofconcern and questioning on
behalf, when, from the ceoperspective, they're just
thinking they're helping out butthey're one of the team,
correct, right, correct.
So it's just this huge mysterybecause it's well intended, but
(24:59):
it can definitely have someunintended consequences.
Speaker 3 (25:01):
You just described the first year and a half almost
two years because I'm outbussing tables and that's the
worst thing for it.
I mean, if they're in the weedsand I'm there, I'm going to go
always help out.
But I need to be out doingthings like podcasts and things
I enjoy and building thebusiness working.
(25:21):
They say you need to work onyour business, not in your
business.
So I've evolved and, um, Istill, you know, bust a table
every now and then because Ican't stand it, but much
improved well, sometimes it'slooking back at that table and
seeing that it's clean, right.
Speaker 2 (25:36):
It's like you just want that task, that you can
actually check off and see thework that was done.
I definitely fall into thattrap and that's my excuse, for
why is I just needed to actuallysee the work?
Speaker 3 (25:44):
that's the dish pit that's the dish pit.
It's amazing.
You see all these dirty dishesand you turn around.
They're all clean and they'relike get out of here but it's
beautiful.
Speaker 4 (25:54):
Now there's accomplishment but I think
that's all part of the cultureas well, and you mentioned that
everybody talks about.
There's a vibe in the brewery,and so it's like that is part of
the culture.
So how has that culture grownor progressed or matured over
the last three years?
Speaker 3 (26:11):
We actually well again in this kind of
implementation.
What we're doing is holdingpeople accountable and putting
all these systems and processesin place.
One of them, we just had all ofour.
We put all the servers and thebartenders under a training
program.
Imagine not training your team,but it's amazing what we've
done.
And then in training them, thenthey had to go through a
(26:34):
certification process so theyhad to go through all the steps
of service and our managers andthe leadership coaches took
notes and either pass them orpretty much all of them passed.
But they had to go through thesteps and the leadership coaches
took notes and either pass themor pretty much all of them
passed.
But they had to go through thesteps and the processes.
And now it's ongoing.
So now they know how to do itand we kindly and gently will
reinforce some little stepsalong the way, but building that
(26:57):
.
We're just trying to elevatethe guest experience and
hospitality and you know we'retaking it very seriously and we
want to train our staff on whatlooks right at 100 Mile, what
are core values, and if I'm notthere, I shouldn't walk in and
have everybody look like deer inheadlights and change their
behaviors.
(27:18):
It's just when I'm not there itshould run as if I was there.
Speaker 2 (27:21):
Absolutely so.
Thinking back to your 2014, Ithink you said self when you
kind of had the idea of maybedoing something, what advice
would you give that person today?
Speaker 3 (27:32):
Don't do it.
You know what?
What I would do.
I don't know if I would doanything different because had I
known what I know now and theprocess of the lack of knowledge
that I really truly had neverrunning a restaurant or a
brewery or a manufacturingfacility or an event space, or
(27:52):
having 40 employees and doingpayroll and taxes and blah blah,
I probably would havequestioned myself.
I think I nobody could tell methat I was so passionate and I
still am passionate, but mypassion there was, like I nobody
was going to tell me that Icouldn't do it.
I mean, you know you have toraise how much money you have to
(28:16):
find what I?
I didn't, didn't even thinkabout it.
I'm going to open a brewery, soI know the lack of sleep.
It's like.
It's like a child.
I have four kids and I'mtelling you this is my fifth
child.
It's like birthing a child.
You think of a name.
You don't know what it's goingto look like.
You don't know what it's goingto act like, but you have this
passion.
You want to be a mom, you wantto be a parent, you want to be,
(28:37):
have this kid and all of asudden, you birth this kid.
The the door's open.
You're like shh, now, what do Ido?
Speaker 2 (28:43):
Now what do I do?
There's no manual.
Speaker 3 (28:46):
I have lack of sleep.
I'm not getting any sleep.
My whole entire life haschanged now because I have this
huge responsibility, you know,and then you keep it alive for a
year.
It's still and it's growing andI'm like, yeah, so it's
literally like a child.
Speaker 2 (29:00):
And you never stop worrying about it.
Speaker 3 (29:01):
And you never stop worrying about it.
That's exactly it.
The analogies go on and on.
Speaker 2 (29:05):
We still worry about them every day.
Speaker 4 (29:08):
So a couple of exciting things.
One it's almost football season, so we're excited for the
devils.
This year, I grew up on a lake.
We're both water people, sowhat is your exciting water news
coming up for football season?
Speaker 3 (29:21):
Right.
So water news coming up forfootball season, right.
So we are on just steps awayfrom Tempe Town Lake, on the
north side, and the city wantsto give the north side a little
love.
They're actually renovating 20acres or not renovating but
developing 20 acres on the westside of the marina.
We're on the east side, juststeps away from the marina, but
for ASU home games this yearwe're going to have a water taxi
(29:43):
.
So there's two pontoon boatsthat hold 12 people.
Through Arizona boat rentals youcan get a ticket.
Details will be on our website,100milebrewingcom, and you can
purchase tickets and then it'lltake.
It's a four-minute pontoon rideso you can park around the
brewery, we have parking, comein tailgate, have a few beers,
(30:06):
some hamburger, whatever tacos,and then walk over, get on the
pontoon boat and it takes youright and drops you right off
Rio Salado and you walk acrossRio Salado and you're in Lot 59.
So the water taxi is for allASU home games and then it's
just going to grow from there.
We want to possibly do it forhockey games and then have um
booze cruises out there, sunsetbooze cruises.
So just a use of our beautifultempe town lake, which is did
(30:31):
you know tempe town lake is thebehind the grand canyon.
It's the most visited place inarizona really wow, really yeah,
I confirm that with TempeTourism.
Speaker 2 (30:44):
Our son lived at Salt there for a while on the lake.
So, yeah, loved it down there.
It's exciting, no, that soundslike a lot of fun and definitely
have to.
Speaker 4 (30:55):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (30:56):
We're probably more in the Uber category to the
brewery and then take it fromthere and go.
Speaker 3 (31:02):
It's much easier to Uber on the north side.
You don't have to deal with allthe traffic and the parking
Jumping out Right.
So you know we're keeping ourfingers crossed.
We're getting a lot of buzz onit and I think that the water
taxi is going to be a hugesuccess Awesome.
Speaker 4 (31:18):
So other things that kind of revolve around the lake.
For you is LAPS around the lake.
Tell us about that.
Speaker 3 (31:25):
So lap around the lake is, since we are located on
Tempe Town Lake, the shortestloop around, if you go in a
circle, is 3.2 miles.
So on Sunday morning at 8.30,it doesn't matter what the
weather is, it could be cold, itcould be 95, which is a couple
weeks ago humid People show up.
We have a big loyal group thatshows up and you just run around
(31:48):
the lake, walk around the lake.
We have dogs not this time ofyear, but strollers and you
accumulate your miles.
Only on Sunday we have a logand once you get to 100 miles, I
give you a 100-mile finisherT-shirt and we turn the music
down and clap for you and thenthe 200 miles is a sweatshirt
and it goes up from there.
So I just earned my 400-milesweatshirt a week ago, so yes,
(32:13):
and then we open for breakfastat 9 o'clock.
And here's the real good perk.
Here's running in beer.
Your first beer is half off, sothat's your perk.
Speaker 2 (32:24):
There you and beer.
Your first beer is half off, sothat's your perk, for there you
go.
Well, we have really enjoyedhaving you on the podcast today
and just appreciate all of yourtime and energy and, of course,
everything you're doing for thecommunity, both business, and
you know, social andphilanthropic.
Um, why don't you real quicktell our viewers where they can
find the brewery and then wherethey can find you?
Speaker 4 (32:39):
we have one question before that.
Oh, so what is your favoritebeer and why?
Oh?
Speaker 3 (32:44):
yes, now that's a really good question.
Yeah, hands down, I'm a westcoast ipa girl, so I love my
hops, I love my bitterness, andwe have a fabulous brewer.
His name is nick and he's beenwith us a little over a year and
his passion for brewing is likemine of opening a brewery, and
he has elevated our level ofbeer.
(33:04):
Um, please, come in and you'rethe best critic is, give it a
try.
And but my, my favorite beer isany west coast ipa.
So we have a cell phone lotwhich is a low abv ipa and we
have our west hawk um, and yeah,so I mix them every once in a
while.
Oh, I shouldn't say that,because then people blend them,
(33:25):
then they're going to want that.
Speaker 4 (33:26):
No, we don't, it's more work for the bartenders.
Speaker 3 (33:29):
And it screws up our inventory, so don't come in and
order a Cell Hawk.
Speaker 2 (33:33):
Like Sue said on the podcast.
Speaker 4 (33:36):
All right, now we can find out how to get.
How can people get in touchwith you or find out more about
the brewery?
Speaker 3 (33:41):
Yes, so our website is 100milebrewingcom.
We are located just on thenorth side of Tempe Town Lake,
off the 202 and rural exit, soit's right in between the 202
and Tempe Town Lake, and we'reon Instagram 100milebrewco,
facebook 100milebrewco.
And yeah, just come on in.
(34:01):
We have beer here on the table.
We have our Crowd Surfer, whichis our Mexican lager with salt
and lime, and our Pinetop Pils.
It's a super light pilsner,maybe an entry level for people
that don't like beer as hoppy asme, and yeah, so come on in and
give us a try, and I reallyappreciate it and we'll give you
(34:22):
a nice warm Iowa welcome.
Speaker 4 (34:25):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (34:25):
Thank you so much and thank you for listening to the
Confidence Curve.
Speaker 1 (34:31):
Thanks for tuning in to the Confidence Curve.
We hope today's episode leftyou inspired and ready to
embrace your journey confidently.
Remember whether you're leadinga team, growing your business
or pursuing personal growth,each step forward builds your
curve.
If you enjoyed today'sconversation, don't forget to
(34:52):
subscribe, share and leave us areview For more insights and
resources.
Visit us at apexgtscom.
Until next time, keep climbingthe curve.
Welcome to the Confidence Curve with Ashley and
Rick Bowers, where personal andprofessional journeys define
the art of scaling withconfidence.
Whether you're a businessleader navigating change or
someone seeking personal growth,this podcast offers insights
and actionable advice to helpyou thrive.
Now let's dive into today'sconversation with our incredible
(00:26):
guest.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Welcome to the Confidence Curve with Apex GTS
Advisors.
My name is Ashley Bowers andI'm here with my husband and
co-host, rick Bowers.
We're happy and excited to bewith you guys today to discuss
the 100 Mile Brewery.
So we have Sue here with us andwe are so thankful that you
decided to join us on ourpodcast today.
We appreciate your time andcan't wait to get to know a
(00:50):
little bit more about you andthe curve that you've been on to
grow the brewery over the lastseveral years.
So, if you want, just kick usoff with a little bit about you
and about your company.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
Sure Well, thank you Ashley and Rick and I didn't
know you guys were married, yourcompany?
Speaker 2 (01:04):
Sure Well, thank you Ashley and Rick and I didn't
know you guys were married.
Speaker 3 (01:11):
There we go, so here we go.
I just learned somethingFabulous.
So, yes, I, my name is SueRiggler and I'm owner of 100
Mile Brewing Company and weopened in December 2022.
So we are going into almostgoing into our third year three
years open, which is no smallfeat for somebody that had no
idea how to run a restaurant.
When I got into it, I wanted toopen a brewery and now we have
a full-fledged, full-on,full-service restaurant
(01:31):
production facility, the breweryand an event space.
So a lot to take on.
When you know you got to sinkor swim, right?
Yeah, absolutely yeah.
So I've been enjoying andlearning the process.
Every day is a differentexperience.
When you're in hospitality, nodays are the same.
You whack a lot of moles, onegoes down and another one pops
(01:52):
up.
So that's just a day in the lifeof an entrepreneur and
hospitality brewery owner.
Absolutely.
Speaker 4 (02:00):
So you and I have a little bit in common.
We both grew up in Iowa, bothwent to Arizona State and kind
of from there you decided tokind of make this plunge.
We met at, I think, class 6 ofthe Alumni Leadership Institute
yes to the brewery for lunch,and we talked a little bit and
(02:24):
you had said you'd gone fromzero to 45 employees in such a
short period of time and it'skind of a shock doing that.
So tell us a little bit aboutkind of what was that like?
Speaker 3 (02:35):
Well, I think, first of all, both being from Iowa and
getting out of Iowa, we're bothsuper smart people, right?
Speaker 4 (02:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (02:43):
So, at least not right now, because it's the
middle of the summer and it's alittle bit hot here.
But, um, yeah, I came to.
I was a microbiology major atASU and I had I've from Iowa.
I was very Iowa nice.
We had a lot of block partiesand pig roasts and just a lot of
community events andneighborhood events and, um, you
(03:05):
know, it's like I said, it'scommunity.
So I've always had thathospitable kind of entrepreneur
spirit and, for I didn't drinkbeer when I was 10 years old,
but I did have a Budweisert-shirt that I wore a lot when I
was 10 years old.
So I kind of had this affinityfor beverages.
I collected beer cans.
Yeah, my dad built me a shelfjust for my beer can collection
(03:27):
and so, between the science, mymicrobiology degree and kind of
my affinity for hospitality andcraft beer, I saw a microscope
in a craft beer or in a craftbrewery one day and kind of this
aha moment and I talked to thebrewer and it was like, from
that moment in 2014, I neverstopped thinking about opening a
(03:50):
brewery.
I was so passionate aboutnobody nobody was going to talk
me out of it.
I had no idea what I was doing,but I managed to get the
funding and the location, thegreat prime location in tempe,
right on the north side of TempeTown Lake.
So all the stars aligned and mydream has come true yeah it's
amazing.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
It's so amazing.
Speaker 4 (04:09):
I love all of that yeah, I collected beer cans as a
kid too, but it was becausethere was a five cent refund on
them and that was good moneyback in the day because you
could go go around and do that.
Speaker 3 (04:20):
I think it's still five cents, isn't it?
Speaker 4 (04:21):
it could be yeah.
I'm just happy that we don'thave that here.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
Very much so.
So opening it back in Decemberof 2022, what was your vision at
that time?
And then, how does it compareto what you've achieved today?
Speaker 3 (04:35):
That's a great question.
Going back to December 22 andlooking at what I've created, I
think I nailed it.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
I really do.
Speaker 3 (04:44):
Because I'm all about community and being a Sun Devil
and loving the city of Tempe.
I have so much support from thecity that I could not have
thought of a better or dreamt ofa more prime, perfect location
for me.
So community giving back myclientele is we have so many
regulars.
(05:05):
It's a very I hear the wordvibe all the time and welcoming
all the time.
100 Mile is where you keep yourbeer freshest from production.
So I don't want my beer totravel any more than 100 Miles
and so I want to keep it local,super fresh and super local.
And I dreamt of my.
My dream is to have fitlifestyle.
(05:25):
I'm a runner, so 100 miles hasnothing to do with running, it's
about fresh beer.
But I do have a running club onsunday mornings at 8 30 so I've
incorporated my running.
Running and beer are my twofavorite things, you know, so I
kind of has a goodcounterbalance, so it is good I
run to the finish line and havea beer.
I mean, what more could you want?
Speaker 2 (05:47):
Absolutely, that's awesome.
Speaker 4 (05:49):
We run to the store to get more beer.
I guess would be the extent ofmy running.
I'm not, definitely not arunner, but I do enjoy beer.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
Yeah, there's beer.
There's two kinds of beer runsright Beer run to the store and
you run a 10K and have a beer.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
What I love about that answer.
I'm currently listening to thebook the Gap in the Game and
it's talking a lot about thepsychology of entrepreneurs and
success and overachievers andhow we tend to always measure
ourselves by where we're going,and that's why so many,
statistically, don't everachieve happiness.
Right, they're in that wehaven't had enough yet mentality
(06:24):
and you know the things that goalong with that and how, if you
want to truly achieve happiness, you measure success by where
you come, like that, that gainthat you've already had, and
your entire answer waseverything that you achieved,
which was just amazing anddefinitely something that people
should inspire.
Speaker 3 (06:39):
To be able to look at it from that perspective thank
you for saying that, because notevery day the whack-a-mole
sometimes you get frustratedabout that happiness Absolutely.
Speaker 4 (06:51):
After we had a conversation the other day, I
went to the website and wasreading the stories on the
website too about the originalowner of that building B and all
of the stories connected there,and so I don't know that.
I remember looking at thepicture in the bar from your
window in Manzi, looking back atthat direction.
So next time I'm in I have tolook for that.
Speaker 3 (07:11):
Right, they have a picture on the bar, a framed
picture, I took in.
I'm going to tell kind of alittle bit.
I'm giving my age up here, butin 1982, when I was a freshman
at ASUU, I lived in the door ofManzanita.
It was 15 stories high, so Ilived on the 13th floor and I
took a picture facing north outof those, you know, those crappy
(07:31):
little Kodak they were papercameras that you manually wound
and then you sent them in fordeveloping.
But so I just I took a picturefacing north and the building
that we currently occupy rightnow, 100 Mile Brewing.
It was built in 1974.
So the building you can see itfrom Manzanita, my dorm room.
(07:53):
So I found it just a year ago.
Two years ago, when I wasmoving my parents out, I was
looking through old photo albumsand I saw Manzanita with the
triangle windows, so it's justan iconic building, and I'm like
, wait, that's Manzanita.
And then I looked at it.
I had it blown up and mybuilding, the brewery building,
is in that picture.
So way back in 1982, it'salmost like serendipitous that I
(08:15):
had this revelation, that I wasgoing to, you know, open a
brewery right there in thatlocation, that's amazing.
What are some of the surprisesor the challenges that you've
kind of come across and had toovercome in the last few years?
(08:36):
Oh geez, where do I start?
Being an entrepreneur is it'sthe greatest thing and it's very
stressful.
So all of us kind of allentrepreneurs you know we're
horrible employees, we'reunemployable really, so we have
to create our own jobs and becreative.
So really the hardest thing isfor me was learning the
restaurant business and managing40 employees and putting
systems.
(08:57):
We're doing this overhaul rightnow, really not an overhaul,
we're implementing it because wenever had it to overhaul, but
it's really to put in systems,and when I mean systems is we
have a regimen of puttingboundaries and holding people
accountable and it's really it'sa lot of work.
It's very painful because wenever had that in the first
couple years, because basicallyI had a friend say you know, I
(09:19):
said she's another fellowbrewery owner and she goes
you're not, I feel like I'mdrinking water from a fire hose.
And she said to me well, you'renot drinking water from a fire
hose, you're free falling froman airplane and I have skydived
twice in my life and I'm likeyou are absolutely right,
because this is exactly how itfeels everything happened so
fast in that first year.
(09:39):
I didn't know really what I wasdoing.
I just held on and had otherpeople guide and it was very
fast, very quick andfree-falling from an airplane.
So, yeah, that is now.
The parachute is open.
It's a little bit.
I can think more.
So now, in thinking and seeing,looking back in the two years
(10:00):
of history, is you have to setsystems up so people can be held
accountable and we call itdon't know, don't care.
So don't know is shame on me asa business owner.
People can't read my mind, so Ihave to tell them, I have to
train them, and then you trainthem a couple times and if
(10:20):
they're still not getting, themessage is that I don't care,
and that's when theuncomfortable conversations come
in, absolutely.
Speaker 4 (10:27):
So a lot, of, a lot of organizations rely on, like,
an external business coach, andyou mentioned that the other day
when we were talking what havebeen some of the big things that
have been their aha moments, oryeah, I do need to work on that
for you.
Speaker 3 (10:40):
You know what his name is, david Scott Peters.
He's a restaurant coach and heis located he he has clients all
over the United States andactually I think he has one in
Columbia, so it's outside of theUS as well.
And ironically, he rose onTempe Town Lake every day, which
is right next door.
I mean, he's local, so he's beenin the restaurant several times
and I'm going through hisprogram and his programs is what
(11:02):
I'm tackling right now issetting these systems and
holding people accountable, um,but one of the one of the
take-home messages is he has, um, all these spreadsheets so you
have to fill out for daily salesreports, waste trackers, um,
and then.
But the one that really hit mewas a labor allotment and it's
like budgeting you have to thepnls, which I have learned how
(11:25):
to read, and but backtracking onlabor allotment, your front of
house and back of house, becauselabor is your most expensive
thing.
So you really have tounderstand it, um, and not copy
and paste your schedule.
So you give your, you give youremployees, your managers, a
budget and you work back.
So kind of a light bulb went onwhen I was going through the
spreadsheets and manuallyentering these.
So kind of a light bulb went onwhen I was going through the
spreadsheets and manuallyentering these numbers.
(11:46):
It kind of made more sense.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
I remember in high school my first job was at a
restaurant.
It was a pizza restaurant and Iwas always just really geeky
about business and grew up infamily-owned businesses and such
and I always wanted to do theirend of year or end of day
paperwork for the managerbecause I liked going through
and figuring out the I know,figuring out the labor
percentage and like looking atall the numbers.
(12:10):
I have a job for you, and solike at 16, finally, when I
could drive, I because I wasn'tallowed to stay clocked in
because we would then go overour labor allocation and so I
would have to like clock out.
But I couldn't drive and so myparents like I'm not taking you
back just so you can clock infor an hour to do paperwork like
(12:30):
this is insane.
And so once I could drive, Iwas so excited because I could
clock out, go home and then comeback at closing and then do the
paperwork.
Later I figured out I was doingthe manager's job, but at that
point I didn't.
I felt like it was a gift thatthey were giving me every time
for me to be able to figure outthe labor issues.
Speaker 3 (12:46):
Ashley, you are a special person there's a word
for it.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
That's great.
So you have achieved so much,so much recognition from the
state and the city andeverything you know
Businesswoman of the Year allthese different accolades what
does that mean to you?
What does that drive you?
Speaker 3 (13:08):
Does it give you a sense of satisfaction, all the
above, or how do you feel it?
Certainly I'm.
I'm honored to.
We got in 2023.
We were named one of the top 10usa today the top 10 new craft
breweries in the us, which, um,after just opening to be
recognized from, you know, usatoday.
And then in 2024, hundred milebrewing was recognized as small
business of the year.
We won that award in tempe,which was even to be nominated,
(13:32):
and then getting down to thefinalists and actually going up
and accepting the award was um,gave me a little bit of
goosebumps, you know.
And then um, just this pastyear in april, I was given the
award.
It was nominated, and then umgot the award for businesswoman
of the Year in Tempe for 2025,which I had to make sure that
they had a check to make surethey were calling the right
(13:54):
person up.
But I mean just looking back.
You know, first of all, it's anhonor and I take that very
seriously as a business woman,as an entrepreneur and owner of
a business in Tempe, that I'mnot only representing my brand
and my company, I'm representingthe entire city when guests
come in because we're right, bySky Harbor we actually have
(14:17):
people's first impressions ofTempe and we also, you know're
their last impression as well.
So it's all-encompassing and Itake it very seriously to, you
know, just give the bestpossible customer experience and
hospitality that we can.
And then to get back to thecity of Tempe, which I've done
some.
We just did a Hope water driveand proceeds, a bottled water
(14:42):
drive that the city uses as atool to go out in the streets
and talk to the unsheltered andhomeless, to engage in
conversations and see if theywant help.
And then they have someprograms to help.
I've given to the Pat TillmanFoundation Pat's Run.
We've done Alyssa Serenade'sshe was a former ASU right,
(15:04):
she's a phenomenal human being.
And we get back to her legacyfoundation and then Sun Devil
Family Charities, just to name acouple.
So, yeah, it's important to meto get back and to be a role
model, even though it's hard to.
I'm still learning myself.
Speaker 2 (15:24):
I think the part of that being a lifelong learner in
the process like allows peopleto follow you a little bit
easier to write.
It brings some humility andvulnerability to the
conversation and it's it'sauthentic, it's real yeah yeah.
Speaker 3 (15:38):
I think you know we were all in this together, kind
of right, and if I can helpsomebody out, because I've been
helped out a lot by past mentorsand friends and they're still
my mentors.
But you know, life is too short.
You know, and I always say it'sbeer, I mean literally we have
burgers and beer.
It's not life insurance.
Sorry for all the lifeinsurance people out there
(16:00):
watching this.
Speaker 4 (16:02):
Your tacos are pretty good, though, too.
Speaker 2 (16:09):
No, I used to say that all the time, like when I
was at the real estate companyfor 10 years.
You know people would befreaking out.
Like we're selling real estate,we are not curing brain cancer,
like it's gonna be okay if thiswaits 10 minutes, like we're
gonna be all right, that's it, Ialways have to step back and
remind myself, um, you know, tostep back.
Speaker 3 (16:22):
I go out in the parking lot a lot and look at
the building and I just step.
You know, watch, I just look atthe building and go, you've
created this.
You know your team from this1974, dungy, gross, ugly,
sanford and Son type junkyard ofa building that we've
transformed into somethingbeautiful, so I'm proud of that.
(16:43):
You just have to step backsometimes, take a deep breath
and go.
Speaker 4 (16:48):
it's all going to be okay, absolutely yeah, alyssa
was the first person, kind of asI was getting back into all of
the ASU things.
So I was part of the Sunday 100and so she greeted me when I
came to the event on that andthen we kind of hit it off and I
think that was part of how Igot onto the board and counsel
for the Alumni Association andthen the last six years I've was
part of how I got onto theboard and counsel for the Alumni
Association and then the lastsix years I've been part of the
(17:11):
Alumni Association and so shewas a part of that and I think
it was almost.
She was one of the first peoplethat had the idea to do the
Leadership Institute for ASU, soshe was involved in so much
stuff with the AlumniAssociation.
Speaker 3 (17:26):
So our beer, hey Buddy, it's a peanut butter
stout and Alyssa's favorite beerwas a peanut butter stout.
So we were celebrating herbirthday two years ago, which is
on August 23rd it's thisSaturday but we got together
with friends and had acelebration of her and then we
came up with the idea that weare going to brew a peanut
(17:48):
butter stout.
So you know, her friends go,can you do that?
And I'm like I own a brewery ofcourse, of course I can so, and
she would always call everybodyhey buddy, hey buddy.
So um, we have a beer on tap, umfresh batch just came on a
couple days ago, but it's heybuddy, and um a dollar a pint
goes back to her scholarship.
Speaker 2 (18:07):
Oh, that's amazing yeah.
Speaker 4 (18:09):
And then she has the golf tournament that we do
through ASU in March as well,and so that's a fun tournament
too.
Speaker 2 (18:17):
So you mentioned a little bit about accountability
and the people aspect of thebusiness, right alluding to that
side of it.
As you think about that, whathave been some of the hardest
parts as far as being anemployer and a leader for people
, but then also like a businessowner and making sure that
you're, you know, looking outfor the company as well as
(18:38):
bringing the people along forthat ride?
Speaker 3 (18:40):
That's a great question and it's something that
I have learned how to learn.
Okay, it's a struggle becauseyou know I'm Iowa, nice, and I
want to be nice to everybody,and you know, but at some point
you have to separate.
It's a business At the end ofthe day.
You know I'm in this, I have tokeep my doors open and I have
to be financially responsibleand I have to hold people
(19:01):
accountable.
So, and another thing that wehave set up is our core values
and some people just don't fitin in the core values and that's
when don't know, don't care.
So it's, I just have toseparate.
It's kind of a line down themiddle where you're starting to
get in that gray area about.
You know, you're stepping overthe don't know, don't care.
(19:23):
And it makes it easier to havethese uncomfortable
conversations because I'velearned document.
You know we put systems in placenow.
So if you follow the systems,there's a clear path.
So I'm not stumbling overmyself or, um, I still stumble
over myself, but, um, yeah, just, is it good for the company?
Is this person does it?
(19:44):
Do they have the best interestof the company?
And it's just all thesequestions that you have to ask
and unfortunately, sometimes ithurts.
Nobody likes to let people go,and then I always say too we use
the phrase a lot is the rightbus, different seat.
So we try to put people in.
They're good people and arehard workers, but maybe they're
not in the best position.
(20:05):
Like they're not, we put themin a management or leadership
role and they just, they're moreof a worker bee kind of.
So um, just try to you try, Itry my best to put people in
positions of strength yeah, no,absolutely.
Speaker 2 (20:17):
I would say when people are like it's so hard to
you know, let somebody go, or tohave a difficult conversation,
it's like if it ever gets easy,you've kind of lost the right to
do it.
Oh yeah, like it should bedifficult it should be a hard
thing to make a decision on.
And um, yes, the process helpsbecause then you're sitting down
and no one's surprised by theconversation.
Everyone knows that we've had alot of work to get there.
That doesn't make the actualconversation no, it doesn't.
Speaker 3 (20:41):
That was a great question so how?
Speaker 4 (20:44):
how has your leadership style changed over
the last few years and where doyou see yourself as a leader in
the future?
Speaker 3 (20:54):
Another good question .
I have seen I'm more confidentnow.
Speaker 4 (20:58):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (20:59):
Much more confident in running a company, running a
restaurant, and I love themarketing aspect of it.
I've always you know, beer andmarketing, I mean, how fun is
that?
But all the other the payrolland human resources and all that
kind of stuff but I'm just, I'mmore confident in decisions and
I'm able to make decisions nowbased on numbers and facts, and
(21:21):
a lot of numbers don't lie.
So it's kind of and Iunderstand them a lot better.
So I think my level ofconfidence has really grown and
that affects my team, because Ithink in the beginning I was
pretty scared.
I didn't know what I was doingand how can you take someone
serious that's scared.
Now it's like come on, people,let's have fun.
(21:44):
This is beer, you know.
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (21:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (21:46):
Look at what this gift we're offering to the
community.
So it's kind of um turning.
I don't think I was a goodleader in the beginning, because
I was being led, because I wasso new and green yeah now I'm,
I'm more confident.
Speaker 2 (22:01):
Do you saw some of those original core people with
you?
We do do.
Speaker 3 (22:05):
There are Caitlin.
I'm going to give her a shoutout right here.
Go in and see Caitlin.
She's also from Iowa, okay, andshe's been there since the very
beginning.
And we have one of our linecooks for us.
Yeah, he's been with us.
I've known him for 10 years.
So, yeah, there's turnover inhospitality and then in, you
know, just opening up, we werenew.
(22:26):
So, again, it's not a fit foreverybody and yeah.
So I think we you know, I saidthat I'm doing this not
transformation butimplementation.
So we now have a solidmanagement team a general
manager, two AGMs, we're hiringa front of house and a kitchen
manager.
We have an event.
So I have a bench, I have ateam, yeah, and I have a
(22:49):
leadership coach that is helpingmy management team on some
fundamentals.
So I think we're set up forsome good success coming up here
.
Speaker 4 (23:01):
Yeah, the confidence really comes from all of those
uncomfortable situations, and Ican't think of much more
uncomfortable than jumping outof an airplane.
So you kind of had thatuncomfortableness as you go
through this process and that'swhere that confidence.
So that definitely is somethingfrom a confidence standpoint.
Have you gotten to your idealrole yet?
Speaker 3 (23:26):
My ideal role of not having to be in there every day.
No, you know, and that's thewhole team mentality.
Now it's like leading anddelegation is a huge one too.
Yeah, that is definitelysomething that leaders have a
hard time doing, but the bestleaders are good at delegating.
(23:48):
When you're in a new leadershiprole, at least for me.
I've learned what micromanagingis.
I had to have conversationswith my managers.
They would tell me not tomicromanage and I'm like what do
you mean so?
Speaker 2 (24:01):
I literally had to ask him what micromanaging was.
Speaker 3 (24:04):
And now it's like if you give somebody a task, let
them fail?
Yeah.
And don't you know, don't youtell them to do something, or
ask them to do something?
Give them a deadline, yeah yeahand check up.
Follow up on the deadline threedays before.
That's not micromanaging.
Speaker 2 (24:18):
But if you do their job like, oh, I've learned yes,
yeah, we use a model stages ofgrowth and it talks about how,
like, the ceo should never jumpinto the supportive category.
Right, and supportive, bydefinition, is kind of that
doing the job with them or forthem, um, and kind of like what
that can do.
Because from an employee'sperspective, they look at it
(24:38):
twofold one, I'm not trusted todo the job, but also, like, does
the ceo not have anythingbetter to do than what I was
hired to do?
Like what's happening?
right so really causes a lot ofconcern and questioning on
behalf, when, from the ceoperspective, they're just
thinking they're helping out butthey're one of the team,
correct, right, correct.
So it's just this huge mysterybecause it's well intended, but
(24:59):
it can definitely have someunintended consequences.
Speaker 3 (25:01):
You just described the first year and a half almost
two years because I'm outbussing tables and that's the
worst thing for it.
I mean, if they're in the weedsand I'm there, I'm going to go
always help out.
But I need to be out doingthings like podcasts and things
I enjoy and building thebusiness working.
(25:21):
They say you need to work onyour business, not in your
business.
So I've evolved and, um, Istill, you know, bust a table
every now and then because Ican't stand it, but much
improved well, sometimes it'slooking back at that table and
seeing that it's clean, right.
Speaker 2 (25:36):
It's like you just want that task, that you can
actually check off and see thework that was done.
I definitely fall into thattrap and that's my excuse, for
why is I just needed to actuallysee the work?
Speaker 3 (25:44):
that's the dish pit that's the dish pit.
It's amazing.
You see all these dirty dishesand you turn around.
They're all clean and they'relike get out of here but it's
beautiful.
Speaker 4 (25:54):
Now there's accomplishment but I think
that's all part of the cultureas well, and you mentioned that
everybody talks about.
There's a vibe in the brewery,and so it's like that is part of
the culture.
So how has that culture grownor progressed or matured over
the last three years?
Speaker 3 (26:11):
We actually well again in this kind of
implementation.
What we're doing is holdingpeople accountable and putting
all these systems and processesin place.
One of them, we just had all ofour.
We put all the servers and thebartenders under a training
program.
Imagine not training your team,but it's amazing what we've
done.
And then in training them, thenthey had to go through a
(26:34):
certification process so theyhad to go through all the steps
of service and our managers andthe leadership coaches took
notes and either pass them orpretty much all of them passed.
But they had to go through thesteps and the leadership coaches
took notes and either pass themor pretty much all of them
passed.
But they had to go through thesteps and the processes.
And now it's ongoing.
So now they know how to do itand we kindly and gently will
reinforce some little stepsalong the way, but building that
(26:57):
.
We're just trying to elevatethe guest experience and
hospitality and you know we'retaking it very seriously and we
want to train our staff on whatlooks right at 100 Mile, what
are core values, and if I'm notthere, I shouldn't walk in and
have everybody look like deer inheadlights and change their
behaviors.
(27:18):
It's just when I'm not there itshould run as if I was there.
Speaker 2 (27:21):
Absolutely so.
Thinking back to your 2014, Ithink you said self when you
kind of had the idea of maybedoing something, what advice
would you give that person today?
Speaker 3 (27:32):
Don't do it.
You know what?
What I would do.
I don't know if I would doanything different because had I
known what I know now and theprocess of the lack of knowledge
that I really truly had neverrunning a restaurant or a
brewery or a manufacturingfacility or an event space, or
(27:52):
having 40 employees and doingpayroll and taxes and blah blah,
I probably would havequestioned myself.
I think I nobody could tell methat I was so passionate and I
still am passionate, but mypassion there was, like I nobody
was going to tell me that Icouldn't do it.
I mean, you know you have toraise how much money you have to
(28:16):
find what I?
I didn't, didn't even thinkabout it.
I'm going to open a brewery, soI know the lack of sleep.
It's like.
It's like a child.
I have four kids and I'mtelling you this is my fifth
child.
It's like birthing a child.
You think of a name.
You don't know what it's goingto look like.
You don't know what it's goingto act like, but you have this
passion.
You want to be a mom, you wantto be a parent, you want to be,
(28:37):
have this kid and all of asudden, you birth this kid.
The the door's open.
You're like shh, now, what do Ido?
Speaker 2 (28:43):
Now what do I do?
There's no manual.
Speaker 3 (28:46):
I have lack of sleep.
I'm not getting any sleep.
My whole entire life haschanged now because I have this
huge responsibility, you know,and then you keep it alive for a
year.
It's still and it's growing andI'm like, yeah, so it's
literally like a child.
Speaker 2 (29:00):
And you never stop worrying about it.
Speaker 3 (29:01):
And you never stop worrying about it.
That's exactly it.
The analogies go on and on.
Speaker 2 (29:05):
We still worry about them every day.
Speaker 4 (29:08):
So a couple of exciting things.
One it's almost football season, so we're excited for the
devils.
This year, I grew up on a lake.
We're both water people, sowhat is your exciting water news
coming up for football season?
Speaker 3 (29:21):
Right.
So water news coming up forfootball season, right.
So we are on just steps awayfrom Tempe Town Lake, on the
north side, and the city wantsto give the north side a little
love.
They're actually renovating 20acres or not renovating but
developing 20 acres on the westside of the marina.
We're on the east side, juststeps away from the marina, but
for ASU home games this yearwe're going to have a water taxi
(29:43):
.
So there's two pontoon boatsthat hold 12 people.
Through Arizona boat rentals youcan get a ticket.
Details will be on our website,100milebrewingcom, and you can
purchase tickets and then it'lltake.
It's a four-minute pontoon rideso you can park around the
brewery, we have parking, comein tailgate, have a few beers,
(30:06):
some hamburger, whatever tacos,and then walk over, get on the
pontoon boat and it takes youright and drops you right off
Rio Salado and you walk acrossRio Salado and you're in Lot 59.
So the water taxi is for allASU home games and then it's
just going to grow from there.
We want to possibly do it forhockey games and then have um
booze cruises out there, sunsetbooze cruises.
So just a use of our beautifultempe town lake, which is did
(30:31):
you know tempe town lake is thebehind the grand canyon.
It's the most visited place inarizona really wow, really yeah,
I confirm that with TempeTourism.
Speaker 2 (30:44):
Our son lived at Salt there for a while on the lake.
So, yeah, loved it down there.
It's exciting, no, that soundslike a lot of fun and definitely
have to.
Speaker 4 (30:55):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (30:56):
We're probably more in the Uber category to the
brewery and then take it fromthere and go.
Speaker 3 (31:02):
It's much easier to Uber on the north side.
You don't have to deal with allthe traffic and the parking
Jumping out Right.
So you know we're keeping ourfingers crossed.
We're getting a lot of buzz onit and I think that the water
taxi is going to be a hugesuccess Awesome.
Speaker 4 (31:18):
So other things that kind of revolve around the lake.
For you is LAPS around the lake.
Tell us about that.
Speaker 3 (31:25):
So lap around the lake is, since we are located on
Tempe Town Lake, the shortestloop around, if you go in a
circle, is 3.2 miles.
So on Sunday morning at 8.30,it doesn't matter what the
weather is, it could be cold, itcould be 95, which is a couple
weeks ago humid People show up.
We have a big loyal group thatshows up and you just run around
(31:48):
the lake, walk around the lake.
We have dogs not this time ofyear, but strollers and you
accumulate your miles.
Only on Sunday we have a logand once you get to 100 miles, I
give you a 100-mile finisherT-shirt and we turn the music
down and clap for you and thenthe 200 miles is a sweatshirt
and it goes up from there.
So I just earned my 400-milesweatshirt a week ago, so yes,
(32:13):
and then we open for breakfastat 9 o'clock.
And here's the real good perk.
Here's running in beer.
Your first beer is half off, sothat's your perk.
Speaker 2 (32:24):
There you and beer.
Your first beer is half off, sothat's your perk, for there you
go.
Well, we have really enjoyedhaving you on the podcast today
and just appreciate all of yourtime and energy and, of course,
everything you're doing for thecommunity, both business, and
you know, social andphilanthropic.
Um, why don't you real quicktell our viewers where they can
find the brewery and then wherethey can find you?
Speaker 4 (32:39):
we have one question before that.
Oh, so what is your favoritebeer and why?
Oh?
Speaker 3 (32:44):
yes, now that's a really good question.
Yeah, hands down, I'm a westcoast ipa girl, so I love my
hops, I love my bitterness, andwe have a fabulous brewer.
His name is nick and he's beenwith us a little over a year and
his passion for brewing is likemine of opening a brewery, and
he has elevated our level ofbeer.
(33:04):
Um, please, come in and you'rethe best critic is, give it a
try.
And but my, my favorite beer isany west coast ipa.
So we have a cell phone lotwhich is a low abv ipa and we
have our west hawk um, and yeah,so I mix them every once in a
while.
Oh, I shouldn't say that,because then people blend them,
(33:25):
then they're going to want that.
Speaker 4 (33:26):
No, we don't, it's more work for the bartenders.
Speaker 3 (33:29):
And it screws up our inventory, so don't come in and
order a Cell Hawk.
Speaker 2 (33:33):
Like Sue said on the podcast.
Speaker 4 (33:36):
All right, now we can find out how to get.
How can people get in touchwith you or find out more about
the brewery?
Speaker 3 (33:41):
Yes, so our website is 100milebrewingcom.
We are located just on thenorth side of Tempe Town Lake,
off the 202 and rural exit, soit's right in between the 202
and Tempe Town Lake, and we'reon Instagram 100milebrewco,
facebook 100milebrewco.
And yeah, just come on in.
(34:01):
We have beer here on the table.
We have our Crowd Surfer, whichis our Mexican lager with salt
and lime, and our Pinetop Pils.
It's a super light pilsner,maybe an entry level for people
that don't like beer as hoppy asme, and yeah, so come on in and
give us a try, and I reallyappreciate it and we'll give you
(34:22):
a nice warm Iowa welcome.
Speaker 4 (34:25):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (34:25):
Thank you so much and thank you for listening to the
Confidence Curve.
Speaker 1 (34:31):
Thanks for tuning in to the Confidence Curve.
We hope today's episode leftyou inspired and ready to
embrace your journey confidently.
Remember whether you're leadinga team, growing your business
or pursuing personal growth,each step forward builds your
curve.
If you enjoyed today'sconversation, don't forget to
(34:52):
subscribe, share and leave us areview For more insights and
resources.
Visit us at apexgtscom.
Until next time, keep climbingthe curve.
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