Booze Brothers

By Barb Miltenberger

riginators of Booze Brothers Brewing Dave and Donny Firth are brothers, but also the best of friends. Dave is the enthusiastic, big picture guy. His focus is on growth and sustainability, and he is the GM of the business. Donny on the other hand is the polar opposite. He is analytical by nature and his strengths are in areas like payroll, HR and data. Together they perfectly complement each other to run the Vista brewery, along with Josh Thompson who helps keep things on track with his marketing and management expertise. They opened for business when craft brewing burst on the scene in San Diego, and by their estimate they are one of the first 100 breweries to hit San Diego County.

Like so many hopeful brewers, they started in their garage, experimenting and crafting back in 2008. They began by producing 5-gallon batches, quickly moving to 15 and then to 20-gallon. They packed out their parents’ garage nightly with friends and music, offering free beer from multiple taps. When they realized that they were onto something and wanted to turn this from a hobby into a full-time business, Dave sold his pool cleaning company and Donny who was a student at the time started dedicating more of his time to getting the business up and running. In 2013 they moved into a 2,800 square foot space on Progress Street. They grew so quickly that in no time they increased their footprint in the park. They currently occupy 10,000 square feet at this location. Today, they have several branches of the businesses under their belts. Not only do they run this original tasting room with an inviting patio and a rustic and gracious event room called The Wood Shed, they also have an on-site canning line, and they offer delicious food selections from Pizza Brothers. Within the last two years they have also opened a tasting room in Oceanside, an event space in downtown Vista called The Vistonian, and they began occupying space at The Mill in Fallbrook, complimenting the shop founded by their sister Tiffany, with both their brews and pizza. As with every business during COVID-19, they struggled. They did not know if they would continue to have jobs when the mandates fell, or how they could stay afloat with production lines shut down and the tap rooms shuttered. That’s when everyone got scrappy and pitched in finding ways to keep moving forward, even turning down paychecks until the storm passed. They made it through the pandemic with full employee retention, which is impressive, and have since doubled their staff. The can-do attitude that presses on and refuses to stagnate is responsible for that. At Booze Brothers, everyone knows what needs to get done, is good at what they do and has a great time doing it ... together as a team. Booze Brothers is an event-focused brewery and bring in an elevated level of musical performers and regularly host art shows from local talent. From the minute you cross their threshold, they want you to have a good time. Their question is always “how can we create the coolest experience ever” for our customers. Their tap room is a place where art, live music, great beer, food and celebrations are all intertwined and that is important to their mission. Come hang out and see what it’s all about. You can find the OG Booze Brothers Brewery at 2545 Progress Street in Vista. They are open 7 days a week, including lunch hours. Find them on Instagram and Facebook or at

/www.jandrautobody.com

www.jandrautobody.com