Anchorage Coffee Retailer Owner Named 2018 SBA Alaska Small Business Person of the Year

Owner Lori Brewer of Caffe D’arteTakes Top Honors, Finalist for 2018 SBA National Small Business Person of the Year, Celebration to Recognize All Local SBA Award Winners May 3

ANCHORAGE, Alaska—The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) 2018 Alaska Small Business Person of the Year is Lori Brewer, owner of Caffe D’arte in Anchorage, Alaska. Founded in 1992, Caffe D’arte serves more than 1,000 customers daily in six retail locations throughout Anchorage. The company also has a division that serves customers throughout Alaska with sales and repair of espresso equipment.

“We are very humbled to receive this award. We are grateful to the SBA for the support of our business and the small businesses of Alaska,” Lori Brewer Said. “The programs and team at the SBA have given our company incredible tools for growth. We appreciate all the support we have received from our customers, clients and the community over the last 26 years! I believe in being intentional in my pursuit of goals, passionate in my care for others and joyful even during trials.”

Caffe D’arte Alaska started with a tiny budget and 400 square foot shop in downtown Anchorage. During the past 25 years, it has grown to six locations, a 5,000 square foot warehouse, distribution of coffee and hundreds of supply items, equipment sales, consolations, and beverage equipment repair. Caffe D’arte Alaska employs 56 people and has assisted hundreds of new owners to open their own coffee and food businesses.

“What a tremendous honor to recognize Lori Brewer as the 2018 SBA Alaska Small Business Person of the Year,” SBA Alaska District Director Nancy Porzio said. “She is a great role model for other entrepreneurs to follow and has played a role in helping many of them as well. Her hard work and dedication to her business, family and the Alaskan community is incredible. It is truly a pleasure to know the SBA played a part in her success.”

The SBA Small Business Person of the Year award—part of National Small Business Week April 29-May 5, 2018—recognizes small business owners who demonstrate staying power and substantiated history as an established business with at least three years of business operation. Winners must also show growth in net worth and business expansion, increase in jobs and sales, innovativeness of products or services, response to adversity and contributions to community-oriented projects.

Brewer believes in second chances and employs Alaskans who have been in the corrections system, offering stability to start a life drug and crime free. She also works closely with the Alaska Division of Vocational Rehab and the National Federation for the Blind providing training for visually-impaired individuals looking to operate a small business.

“National Small Business Week is a time to recognize the impact of small businesses in the Pacific Northwest by sharing their inspirational stories of success, resilience and determination,” SBA Regional Administrator Jeremy Field said. “It’s my honor to celebrate the entrepreneurs who use innovation to solve problems, create jobs and make a difference in our local communities.”

Small Business Person of the Year winners from 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Guam will converge in Washington, D.C. April 29-30 when one of them will be selected as the National Small Business Person of the Year.

A celebration honoring local SBA winners from the SBA Alaska District will be May 3.

Each year since 1963, the President has issued a proclamation calling for the celebration of National Small Business Week. SBA recognizes outstanding small business owners for their personal successes and contributions to our nation.