PEORIA, Ill. – The Peoria business incubator Distillery Labs is ready to start working toward moving in to its new home, four years after the organization began.
Delayed in part by COVID-19, Distillery Labs hosted a “hammer swing” event Thursday – community leaders starting to knock out a wall at the former Illinois Central College Thomas Building downtown at Main and Fulton Streets.
You might say new Executive Director Doug Cruitt, who just started a few weeks ago, is coming out swinging, knowing what has to happen between now and this time next year.
“We’re going to be building out new events, new structure, to help connect, educate, navigate, outside of these walls,” said Cruitt. “Over the coming eight to twelve months, we’re going to be really building up that sense of community – kind of the intangible benefit of what we’re working on here.”
Caroline LaHood – director of operations at custom cosmetics company ColorForge, says Distillery Labs, helped turn an idea from a basement dream, to a brick and mortar reality.
“We immediately were connected with other leaders and entrepreneurs who understood our struggles and our journey,” said LaHood. “We’ve met so many mentors and so many people who helped shift our business, focus our messaging, and continue to feed us until we began to grow.”
The process ColorForge uses was patented here in Peoria.
Officials say more than two hundred patents are filed from Peorians every year. This year, that’s more than doubled.
State and federal money is helping pay for the buildout, which should be complete by this time next year.
“Distillery Labs and the city have shared efforts to make Peoria a smart city – an inclusive and accessible city to all. We’re excited to have Distillery Labs as a trailblazing partner in these efforts,” said Mayor Rita Ali.
(Artists illustrations from Distillery Labs)
