Craftlab: The Podcast Episode 8 With Kristin Cagney, Summit Seltzer
To know Summit Seltzer in Charlotte, North Carolina, is to know Kristin Cagney.
Kristin is Summit’s founder, and her positivity and adventurous spirit embody just about everything you find at the seltzery, the first on the East Coast and one of just three across the U.S. There are NFT screens and ball pits (on select nights). There are T-shirts imprinted with the phrase “Bitches Love Seltzer” and a special seltzer with a brown sugar rim known as “Boots with the Fur.” Summit is fun and built on hard work and passion — like Kristin.
Summit got its start in the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic; in fact, Kristin signed her bank loan the day Charlotte bars and restaurants shut down in March of 2020. But it didn’t stop her. Now, Summit Seltzer is on track to open its second location in Charlotte. It’s on the shelf at 46 Harris Teeter locations, and Kristin acts as marketer, janitor, bartender and leader — routinely logging 12-hour days and loving every minute of it.
In this episode, Kristin talks about her journey from corporate finance to seltzer, why her business is proudly 100% family-owned and what’s next for Summit Seltzer.
Cheers! And thank you for listening.
Show Notes:
About Summit Seltzer
Charlotte’s first seltzery — and the first seltzery on the East Coast, too. We house ferment our hard and non-alcoholic seltzers, and use purees to flavor and condition them, creating a craft beverage–not the seltzer in a can that you’re accustomed to. We’re like a brewery, but for seltzer.
For more information, visit the Summit Seltzer website here.
Kristin’s Music Recommendations
- Kygo
- Louis the Child
- Evan Giia
- Family favorite: ABBA
