EDA Meeting Date: November 25, 2024
To: Members of the Economic Development Authority
From: Nate Carlson, Economic Development Coordinator
Title
EDA Revolving Loan Application - Loon Liquors, LLC
Body
Action Requested:
The Economic Development Authority is recommended to consider a motion to approve Resolution 2024-006 Approval of a Revolving Loan in the Amount of $200,000.00 to Loon Liquors LLC for the Purchase of Property and Equipment for Relocation and Expansion of Distillery Business.
Summary Report:
Loon Liquor, LLC is requesting a $200,000 Loan from the EDA City-Wide Revolving Loan Program. The applicant has provided an application for the funds, which can be found attached to this report. Economic development staff has been working with Loon Liquor over the past 5 years regarding possible future expansion of the business. On April 23, 2024, the City Council and Loon executed a purchase agreement for the city-owned property at 115 5th Street W (formerly known as the Northfield News Building) as their future home for the business. Since April, staff and the applicant worked to refine the project and complete a loan application to EDA Board standards. This application was provided to staff on October 30, 2024. Staff has reviewed the loan application thoroughly and has identified that this application meets all loan criteria.
Loon Liquor has been in operation for over 10 years. The craft distillery is owned and operated by its two co-founders Simeon Rossi and Mark Schiller, who are Northfield High School friends. The company was established in 2011 and has been producing certified organic spirits since 2014. They were the first legal distillery in Southern Minnesota in over 100 years. Distilleries were not allowed to have a cocktail room when they first started.
They are committed to making their spirits 100% from scratch using locally-sourced organic ingredients, while being environmentally conscious of their production methods. About 90% of the...
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