Boise Bardenay
The Bardenay was established in November 1999 as an S Corp. The principals lobbied the state and federal government to change the laws that permitted them to distill hard liquor on the premises and were the first in the U.S. to do so. They have the ability to distill whiskey and brandy, but due to the distilling and aging cycle (from two to five years) they have limited production to gin, rum and vodka, which can be produced and consumed within several days. The borrowers have plans to open an Eagle location that will include a distillery that is twice the size of the one in Boise, and will give the borrower the space needed to start a barrel-aging program that will allow them to add whiskeys and aged rums to the product mix. You can find Bardenay on the web at: www.bardenay.com.
Bardenay has become one of Boise's best places to eat and meet friends. In addition to great food, the distillery produces Bardenay's own private labeled gin and vodka providing the borrower with something no other restaurant in the U.S. has.
CDFI involvement with this project came about as part of the meetings scheduled by the Idaho Wells Fargo CRA officer with Wells Fargo business bankers. Wells Fargo and the CDFI both provided financing on this project. The CDFI loan financed the buyout of stock of one of the original founding partners. The CDFI loan was made in conjunction with a $174,000 refinance loan from Wells Fargo. The net effect of the two loans is to decrease the monthly debt service load from $12,877 to $7,609. The business is a popular restaurant in a CDFI eligible area in Boise. It is a rarity in that it is the first restaurant licensed in the United States to distill hard liquor on its premises. The remaining owners of the business are Kevin Settles and Elizabeth Fraser.
The CDFI loan was for 48 months at 5.75% fixed and it helped to support fourteen jobs.
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