We received an email from our favorite local distillery yesterday, with the seemingly innocuous subject line “Blinking Owl Distillery NEWS May 2023.” Opening it up expecting a new featured cocktail or creative taco creation offered at the in-house patio restaurant, we were not prepared for what the email actually contained: An announcement that, if Blinking Owl does not find a new partner or buyer, the Santa Ana, California-based distillery may not survive much longer.
According to the email (sent on behalf of the venue but likely reflective of the voice of founders Brian and Robin Christenson), for the last 18 months Blinking Owl had “been working toward an incredible brand representation, licensing and production deal.” This plan would have allowed the distillery—which launched in just 2016 as the first craft distillery in Orange County—to rapidly scale production and distribution on a national level.
Due to “a sudden unexpected issue” on the end of the distillery’s partner in this deal, not only have all of those plans have come to a halt, but while the Christensons figure out their next move, they have temporarily paused operations of Blinking Owl’s downtown Orange County distillery and restaurant—the latter of which featured a delicious (and mostly locally sourced) menu of pizzas, appetizers, and desserts from Chef Luis Perez and Pie Maestro Eddie Perez. Although the bar at the tasting room is not currently offering spirit tastings, visitors can still drop by to buy bottles and merchandise.
The Blinking Owl founders are exploring all options, including searching for a new partner or a party interested in buying the turn-key business outright. (Serious inquires can be directed to the distillery via email at info@blinkingowl.com). As highlighted in their announcement email, Blinking Owl has “done the hard part”:
“Building a facility such as ours would take someone 2-3 years minimum and approximately $5M. Many have attempted to build distilleries in Orange County and failed after years of trying and hundreds of thousands of dollars. Coupled with our $2M+ aging whiskey barrels, this is a rare incredible opportunity for someone looking to venture into distilling.”
Anyone want to go in with us to save Blinking Owl? We’ve got *checks piggy bank* … well, we’ve got a great love of whiskey. And local businesses.
[Disclosure notice: The author was a (very small) investor in Blinking Owl Distillery’s recent funding campaign via WeFunder.]