We caught up with Nicholas Hammond, the founder and head distiller of Pacific Coast Spirits in Oceanside, California. Nicholas and his wife Nicole have always had environmental responsibility front of mind so when it came time to fulfill the dream of opening a restaurant and distillery, becoming an Ocean Friendly Restaurant was an easy decision.
Q: How did Pacific Coast Spirits begin?
A: Well, making beer, wine, spirits has always been a passion of mine. During my career as an Engineer, I knew that I wasn't meant to stay behind a desk, I was happy when I was making something from scratch with my hands. The combination of science, art and manual labor drew me to pursue my dream of making whiskey. I started back in 2005 when I went to Jalisco, Mexico and began making my own tequila but costs prohibited me from pursuing this full time. As I continued in life, I was fortunate enough to take an apprenticeship that allowed me to distill and learn more and eventually with the support of my beautiful wife, I was able to pursue the dream full time and we started the business plan and established Pacific Coast Spirits as a business in 2015. It was a long road to where we are today but let's just say through overcoming the obstacles, we are where we were meant to be, in a community that supports us and truly represents what Pacific Coast Spirits was founded on - ” Where the mountains meet the Ocean.”
Q: How did you first learn about Ocean Friendly Restaurants? Do you have any past experience with the Surfrider Foundation?
A: I had some acquaintances that worked for the company or were heavily involved with the cause. Patagonia also brought my attention to this. It speaks to me as my family and I try to be very environmentally conscious and respect the ocean. My family and I have participated in a number of the beach clean ups.
Q: Why did you join the Ocean Friendly Restaurants program and why is it important to you?
A: We live in a time where every little bit counts. Giving back to our community and respecting the world we live in. As a business owner/restaurant owner, it is my responsibility to educate our community on this. Ocean Friendly Restaurants Program is one piece of this that allows me an outlet to say, “The Ocean is important to me and it should be to you, be mindful of what you use.” Growing up a climber since the age of 13 and having idols such as the founder of Patagonia, Yvon Chouinard, the mindset of sustainability and the “do good” philanthropy have always been at the core of me and organically the core of our business.
Q: Was it easy for you to comply with the criteria? Were you already doing most or all of it?
A: Being a sustainable distillery put us on track to support this initiative and it's criteria. We had built a closed loop water cooling system, which reduces our water usage by over 80%. We recycle all of our spent grain, which is one of our main raw ingredients in our whiskeys. It goes to local farmers for livestock feed. All single use items within the restaurant and for takeout are compostable and non-plastic. In addition, our primary raw ingredients for our spirits and food is organically sourced from California, paying homage to our home state and supporting local. We are doing our part wherever we can.
Q: How are you coping with the impacts of COVID-19?
A: You mean, how am I coping with the massive curve ball that was thrown at us just 4 months after opening a dream of 5 plus years? Haha. We are turning lemons into lemonade, we have pivoted to making hand sanitizer. This is a need during this time and we didn't hesitate. We are donating, selling and shipping hand sanitizer to our community and small/large businesses. This has allowed us to bring a skeleton crew back after having to furlough everyone. It is also allowing us an outlet to secure our doors opening again at the right time. And we are also using this time to test concepts in the kitchen and bar. We have curbside To-go items and are working to support the community in all ways possible: safety, satisfaction and a smile.
Q: What are some other efforts or changes you’re making to reduce your overall environmental impacts?
A: Part of the Pacific Coast Spirits vision was to be as resourceful as possible. We spent over 18 months building out the restaurant/distillery ourselves, reusing reclaimed wood for the bar, tables and more. When you visit us, you will notice a natural environment where we bring aspects of the outdoors in. As we look to reopen our doors, we will continue to be environmentally mindful in our solutions.
Q: Anything you’d like to add or would like people to know about Pacific Coast Spirits?
A: Pacific Coast Spirits is about family and community. We strive to not only be environmentally conscious but also provide a quality product and the best customer experience. As we think about opening our doors again, we will continue to have monthly events where we support local artists and partner with a local charity or cause to raise funds and awareness. It is one of the many ways we collaborate with the community. From afar we are shipping spirits and hand sanitizer online, we are part of 1% for planet with all sales having some sort of “give back” component. Please support us from near or far and remember to be ocean friendly and environmentally conscious. The mountains and the oceans are our natural environment and we can all make a small difference in the big picture.