Filled with trials, tribulations, and countless pints of fresh craft beer, the inspiring success of The Second Wedge Brewery in Uxbridge, Ontario offers lessons in partnership, adaptation, and the power of the human spirit.
With two foundational supports from Meridian on their decade-long journey, spouses and business partners Joanne Richter and Rob Garrard have learned very clearly that when you invest in a community, the community will invest back.
A dream business spoken into existence
Back in 2013, the married couple Joanne Richter and Rob Garrard were each in need of employment rebirth.
“We had careers going in directions we weren’t thrilled with,” said Joanne.
Knowing change was necessary, the couple got entrepreneurial and looked around for types of businesses that might make a difference where they lived in Uxbridge, about an hour northeast of Toronto.
Meanwhile, they were also getting into craft breweries, often visiting them for a glass of stout while on ski trips in the U.S.
“One day I just said to Rob, ‘We should open a craft brewery in Uxbridge.’
“And I just said, ‘Yeah.’ Literally it was just, ‘Yeah.’”
With that, the seed that would become The Second Wedge Brewery was planted – but the seed would need a lot of nurturing and support from a good many friends.
Right away when drafting a business plan, the couple learned that opening a brewery would be a financial challenge.
“Breweries are not cheap to start up,” said Rob. “It’s a lot of stainless steel. It’s a lot of investment.”
Seeking support, Joanne and Rob visited five or six banks, as well as money lenders and other people who might get involved with the business.
“The only positive response we got was Meridian,” said Joanne.
“We presented our plan and had a great meeting. We got the call a few weeks later saying, ‘We’d love to work with you.’ It was a great day.”
Meridian offered the couple a Canada Small Business Loan to cover half of their start-up costs on the condition that they could find additional private financing for the other half.
“This meant that we had to go into our community and find some local partners,” said Joanne. “It was a little daunting to figure out how we were going to get that extra 50%.”
As it happened, a good old-fashioned press release sent to the local newspaper did the trick. No less than 10 potential investors answered the call.
“We booked meetings at a local pub and chatted with all these people,” Joanne recalls. “After which, we were able to just pick the one that made sense for us. We were extremely lucky. All of these were people who live right here in town, interested in something strong for their community.”
From odd-duck building to thriving community hub
Now fully funded, The Second Wedge Brewery sprang to life in 2014, so named because Uxbridge is located on one of the four wedges of Ontario’s Oak Ridges Moraine. (A moraine is an essential and natural landform for ground water flows, typically also home to a diversity of vegetation and wildlife species.)
Joanne and Rob found an “odd duck” building, on a quiet side street behind the heritage railway in downtown Uxbridge. They transformed it inside and out, and included a beautiful hideaway beer garden beside Uxbridge Brook.
It was hard work, but the payoff was almost immediate and also unexpected.
“We really didn’t realize that our business was going to be the community gathering space that it turned out to be,” said Joanne. “We created a space, and people came, and they contributed.”
“The Uxbridge music scene was so vibrant and all we had to do was go ‘Oh, hey, would you like to come play?’ And then suddenly, boom, we started connecting with artists and now every six weeks we’re exhibiting new art.”
The couple also found a way to give some of their ample parking space to the local farmers’ market.
“We were able to offer them a home, and they say it has really contributed to their revitalization,” said Joanne. “I think it was the first year they won an award for best farmers’ market in Ontario.”
A pandemic and a tornado
Every good story has a few twists and turns, and this one is no different.
After several years of steady growth, The Second Wedge was hit hard by Covid. With business falling off quickly, Joanne and Rob responded by launching an online storefront and making some clever adaptions including a “beer slide” car delivery conveyor belt as well as musical shows livestreamed on social media.
“We just kind of rolled with it,” recalls Joanne. “I don’t think we’ve ever laughed so much in that sort of maniacal anxiety way, but it was good preparation for what was to come.”
What to come was nature’s fury.
In May of 2022, a tornado tore through downtown Uxbridge and The Second Wedge took a direct hit. The roof was ripped off and the space was gutted. Miraculously, none of the dozen or so customers and staff in the building were seriously hurt.
Recovery felt daunting, but the community once again played a pivotal role.
“People just started helping clean things up, like moving tables in the beer garden and the broken bike racks,” said Rob. “This was The Second Wedge, and The Second Wedge belonged to Uxbridge,” Joanne added.
As part of the recovery, Joanne and Rob were looking to cut down on cost of goods by buying their own canning and storage equipment.
“We had to make a decision on how best to finance that,” said Joanne. “Then we were introduced to Meridian OneCap.”
Meridian OneCap is a Meridian subsidiary and one of Canada’s leaders in equipment financing. Partnering with Meridian OneCap meant Joanne and Rob could acquire a canning line, a labeler, and an infeed table to fit inside their modest space.
“It was a huge change in our business,” said Rob.
Between that financing and the initial start-up loan, Joanne and Rob realize how important Meridian has been to their success, and not just on the financial side.
“Most of the people we’ve dealt with at Meridian came from the larger banks and moved to Meridian because of the values that they had,” said Joanne. “And we share those values, so it feels like a very comfortable place for us. With Meridian, we really don’t feel like we’re a number. We feel like we’re actual people.”
A bigger and better brewery
“Literally from day one, the passion has not gone away. It hasn't changed,” says Rob.
“This summer, we’re so excited to be adding a kitchen,” Joanne adds. “It’s going to be fun to not just serve food and beer but to bring them together.”
With so much trial by fire behind them, Joanne and Rob are now firmly focused on making an ever-bigger impact with The Second Wedge.
“We want to keep building out and have more and more people know about us, come see us, and find our beer at their local LCBO store, grocery store, or restaurant,” said Joanne.
“We would like to be bigger and better every year.”
Discover more about The Second Wedge in two films produced by Meridian:
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Meridian Presents: From Shame to Shine
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