033 - Leah Wong Ashburn, President & CEO of Highland Brewing, on the Evolution of a Microbrewery and Family Business

In this episode of Making It in Asheville, we interview Leah Wong Ashburn, President of Highland Brewing.

Founded in 1994, Highland Brewing was the first legal brewery in Asheville since Prohibition. Today it is the largest native North Carolina brewhouse, distributing throughout the state and the Southeast region. In 2011, Leah became President of the company her father, Oscar Wong, had founded years before. Since then, many things have stayed the same (like their famous Gaelic Ale), but Leah has also infused quite a bit of her own spirit and entrepreneurial knowledge into the company.

Here's What You'll Learn:

• The history and evolution of Highland Brewing
• Highland's Rebranding process
• Challenges specific to the microbrewery business
• Sneak 'listen' about Highland's new location in the S&W building, slated to open in Spring 2020
• Leah's advice for those trying to "make it" in Asheville

For complete show notes, including some supplementary information from this episode visit: MakingItInAsheville.com/033

To recommend an interviewee, visit: MakingItInAsheville.com/podcast

Curious to learn more about what we do? Making It Creative is a boutique marketing agency in Asheville. We are dedicated to working with small business owners that are deeply passionate about what they do by helping them build and improve their sales and communication strategies. Learn more here.

Music by Commonwealth Choir

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