By Chris Brockel
FEED Kitchens
The parade of graduating businesses from FEED Kitchens continues in 2023 with the announcement that Rude Brew Kombucha is moving into a new production facility. Rude Brew will be the fifth business graduating from FEED this year.
An active foodie, forager and homebrewer of kombucha, Lacy Rude started her business at FEED Kitchens in the summer of 2017. At that time, she was fermenting kombucha in a single five-gallon bucket. From this humble beginning, Rude Brew is leaving FEED Kitchens with one 100-gallon and two 55-gallon stainless steel fermentation tanks, shelves full of inventory, and a pocketful of sales invoices.
Through the constant hustle of attending trade shows and markets and offering samplings of her product, Rude has intentionally grown her business to the success it is finding today. Rude Brew Kombucha will now be making its organic, seasonally and locally flavored drinks in the former Banzo restaurant production space on Williamson Street where she will be co-located with another beverage maker and FEED Kitchens graduate, Let It Ride Cold Brew Coffee.
The transition from the protective space of FEED Kitchens to an independent production space is not an easy one. Many successful FEED Kitchens businesses share the same issue. When businesses start at FEED Kitchens, it’s a bumpy ride getting the business off the ground before finding some traction and becoming comfortable at producing and growing the business. When transitioning to the next iteration of business growth that same level of anxiety from start-up comes back — cash flow, paying bills, taking full responsibility for equipment and infrastructure. Leaving the comfort of blanketed support with other food entrepreneurs become a big concerns when leveling up.
“FEED Kitchens has been the most supportive, loving and inclusive community I have ever been a part of,” said Rude. “When I first decided to really go for it and launch my business, Chris and everyone there were so welcoming and informative. I came in with many barriers; they helped me with the ins and outs, paperwork and were just generally supportive and remained so for the entire six years I was a member there. I don’t know that I would have been able to accomplish what I have with my business if it wasn’t for these wonderful people, that I consider my friends and family and whom I hope to be connected with my entire life. I am eternally grateful for their love and support. It has been life changing.”
Being an entrepreneur is all about risk taking, and with risk comes rewards so Rude is taking the leap. FEED Kitchens certainly hopes for continued growth and success of Rude Brew Kombucha.