As part of National Small Business Week, Linda McMahon, Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration, today recognized this year’s Small Business Person(s) of the Year and other national award winners at a ceremony and reception at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington, D.C.
“It is my extreme pleasure to announce that husband-and-wife business partners Garrett and Melanie Marrero of Maui Brewing Company are this year’s national Small Business Persons of the Year,” McMahon said. “Their innovative spirit, with assistance from the SBA and its lending and partners, created a thriving business and hundreds of jobs for their community.”
Maui Brewing Company, headquartered in Kihei, Hawaii, started in 2005 as a small seven-barrel brewpub with the help of SBA financing. Today, it is the largest craft beer producer in Hawaii.
“Garrett and Melanie have shown impressive growth, expanding in size, sales and scope of their business,” McMahon said. “By 2007, increasing demand led them to open a second location in Lahaina with a 25-barrel capacity, giving them the ability to provide brewery tours and making it a tourist destination as well. By 2013, they were producing more than 19,000 barrels of beer a year, boosting revenues to more than $10 million. They have since expanded with a new 18,000 square-foot restaurant that opened in Oahu last year, and new brewpubs and eateries are scheduled to open later this year. By the end of 2018, Maui Brewing Company will employ a workforce of 700.”
McMahon also recognized National Small Business Person of the Year runners-up from Kentucky, California and Virginia, as well as winners from each of America’s states and territories.
“All of our winners have built very successful businesses through their hard work, innovative ideas and dedication to their employees and communities,” McMahon said.
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