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Left to right: Andrew Leichthammer, Justin Bourgeois and Scott Kerner at Good Measure Brewing
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impact of the beer production. But because the technology is not required by regulation, it was more difficult to finance, Kimmich said. But, she added, “Justin sold it to the bank.” Bourgeois says his lending choices are straightforward: If he likes to eat or drink something, he’ll finance it. And so it was that he dropped by the new Blue Stone restaurant in Montpelier a few days before it opened in early August. The owners were pleased to pour Bourgeois the first beer from their tap line — a Fizzy brewed by Good Measure — and cheer the beer, the bar and the new business. The restaurateurs and their banker had first worked together in 2014 on a renovation loan for the original Blue Stone in Waterbury. That interaction “opened the door for our relationship to grow,” according to coowner Vinny Petrarca. “He liked our chicken wings and pizza,” Petrarca recalled, “so he was good to go.” m
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Street in Waterbury. Bourgeois financed the purchase of that building, the construction of the Alchemist’s production brewery and cannery on Crossroad in Waterbury, and the $11 million brewery off Mountain Road in Stowe. Bourgeois secured $8 million in loans for the Stowe project, Jen Kimmich said. “It’s fun and it’s easy” to work with Bourgeois, she added, noting two experiences that were particularly valuable. The opening of the Waterbury production brewery in September 2011 coincided with Tropical Storm Irene, which caused extensive damage to the Alchemist’s brewpub. Bourgeois showed up at the brewery for days in a row to work with the Kimmiches. He helped the couple navigate through a disaster when they were overwhelmed. “He just had such a calm sense,” Kimmich said. “He was so reassuring: ‘We got this. Let’s start with the floor cleanup.’” For the Stowe brewery, the Kimmiches were committed to installing a $1 million state-of-the-art water-treatment system that would minimize the environmental
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He has helped clients brew and tastetest beers, name drinks and run an irrigation line. It’s fun and “a vibe-builder,” he said. Bourgeois lives in Middlesex with his wife, fellow banker Anita Bourgeois, and their two children. It’s a good location from which to prowl for beer and burgers; he averages 20,000 miles a year driving around central and northern Vermont. Kathy Austin, president and CEO of CNB, called Bourgeois “an unconventional lender.” He is one of nine commercial lenders at the bank, she said, which has 135 employees at 12 branches in Vermont. “I think his personality and style is quite suitable for working with these entrepreneurs who are creating this food and beverage industry that’s been growing so rapidly in Vermont,” Austin said. “He becomes very interested in their businesses and wants to counsel and help them. And he’s creative about findings ways to help them.” He’s an unconventional lender, perhaps, but one who can schmooze in standard bank-speak and make it sound interesting. “We manage risk,” he’ll say with a smile, or “We sell money.” Securing a loan, Bourgeois explained, is a “three-legged stool” built on cash flow, collateral and a personal guarantee. Bourgeois likes to employ a fourth leg, too, a kind of ace in the hole: the U.S. Small Business Administration. The federal agency has an office in Montpelier that guarantees small business loans. CNB is the SBA’s top moneylender in fiscal year 2017, according to Dan Monahan, the public information officer. “They’re a preferred lender,” Monahan said of CNB. “They do loans so well and so often, they have permission in advance.” Bourgeois’ first food and beer client, some dozen years ago, was the Alchemist. Then, Jen and John Kimmich were owners of a brewpub on Main
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Heilenbach — are business buddies. Last week, their meetings took place in a Honda Pilot at Waterfront Park in Burlington for a change of scenery, and over a lunch of ice water and mac and cheese — one plate, two forks — in Citizen Cider’s barroom. If their MO remains the same, the dollar figures they now kick around have grown exponentially: Bourgeois is financing Citizen Cider’s expansion as the cidery moves its apple-pressing operation from Middlebury to Burlington’s Flynn Avenue. Another phase of the project could include a new tasting room. “I’m not motivated by putting money on the books,” Bourgeois said. “I like a good story. I’m interested in growing things and creating things. This fits my lifestyle. It feels good. It feels genuine.” Bourgeois’ own story started 41 years ago in Swanton, where he grew up picking apples and making hard cider at the family’s 1,000-tree orchard. He played first base at Missisquoi Valley Union Middle/High School and still possesses the youthful qualities of an adolescent ball player: affable and eager, with the drive to make things happen. Justin’s father, Michael Bourgeois, was a 40-year member of the Vermont National Guard. His mother, Sheralyn Bourgeois, is a retired school librarian. Older brother Sean is a cop in St. Albans, and uncle Steven Bourgeois was president of the Franklin Lamoille Bank there. Every Friday, Justin Bourgeois recalled, Steven would trade his office for a desk in the lobby to make himself available to bank customers. After graduating from Champlain College in 1998 with a business degree, he worked at Banknorth for 10 years before starting at CNB. There, Bourgeois borrows his uncle’s technique: He routinely leaves his Montpelier office and heads to the bars, restaurants and sugar shacks that he helps to fund. “The most important thing you can do is interact,” Bourgeois said. “I really am out more than I’m in.”