Boneyard founder to acquire shares in Deschutes as part of transaction
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – In Bend, beer is big business, so a new business partnership announced on Wednesday between Deschutes Brewery and Boneyard Beer is big news.
Deschutes Brewery President Michael LaLonde told NewsChannel 21: “What’s going on is that Deschutes is taking over the Boneyard brand and all their beer brands, their recipes, the place where they are at Lake, which is the original Boneyard bar and tasting room. “
Tony Lawrence, co-founder of Boneyard, gets equity in the deal.
“Tony is actually getting ownership in Deschutes Brewery,” LaLonde said. “So it’s right that Deschutes will have their brand, supported by everyone at the company. Tony is going to have the freedom to pursue his brand.”
Lawrence says he is excited about the potential this deal has for its long passionate brand.
“When I travel outside the region and see the customer feedback or their interest or their own curiosity,” Lawrence said. “Now we need to put it to work and see where the Boneyard brand lies in history, up and down the West Coast, and where our IPAs and liquids we produce really fall.”
Gary Fish, founder of Deschutes, says the announcement quickly became big news in the world for beer and art brewing.
“Since we made the announcement at 10 a.m. this morning, we’ve been calling from across the country about this deal and about the possibility of getting the Boneyard brand,” Fish said.
Asked if Boneyard, like Deschutes Brewery, would start mass distribution, LaLonde said they had big plans – but that it would be done in baby steps.
“Right now we have very big plans for Boneyard, but we want to make sure it’s successful,” he said. “It’s going to be baby steps. Right now they have Oregon spread, a little bit in Washington, a little bit in Northern California. This is where we’re going to focus, and once we fill in the footprint, we’ll think of other geographic areas. ‘