Page 65 - BusinessWest September 15, 2021
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      Mike Dell’Aquila and Sara Real found the inspiration, and the time, to launch Hot Plate Brewing during the first year of the pandemic.
dation for tourists to that market. But reality, in the form of skyrocketing real- estate prices, as well as a lack of capital and few options for obtaining it, has kept that dream in check — at least for now.
But Miraglia, at the advice of men- tors assigned to her by the nonprofit EforAll Berkshires, has pivoted and now leads a number of guided hikes within the Berkshires through a venture that
is not yet profitable but showing some forms of promise.
Overall, she can find countless ways, and phrases, to compare the rugged challenge that is the Camino to that of starting and growing a business.
“It’s a hero’s journey,” she said of the trek in Spain, but also entrepreneurship. “You put yourself onto that path, and you have to overcome challenges and see who you are.”
Miraglia is part of what many are calling a surge in entrepreneurship in the Berkshires, one fueled in part by the pandemic, which left many out of work and looking to start their own busi- ness. It left others wanting to leave the city and head for far more rural areas — and, again, start their own business. For still others, the pandemic triggered imaginative ideas for ways to get people out and about, and generate revenue while doing so.
Mike Dell’Aquila and his wife, Sara Real, don’t fit neatly into any of those categories,
but in some ways, they encompass all three. They
left their condo in Brooklyn for a home in Lenox in July, and are advancing plans to launch Hot Plate Brewing Co. in Pittsfield.
As with all breweries, there’s a story behind the name; in this case, the couple lost gas service in their condo for a period of time just as they were getting serious about transforming this from a hobby to a business. So they famously bought a hotplate so they could continue honing their craft.
“If you want to get romantic about it ... we felt that there was never going to be a better sign from God that it was time to make a change.”
There’s more to this story than the name, though, said Dell’Aquila, adding that the pan- demic certainly helped provide the motivation — and the time — to take their dream, which has been, well, brewing since 2018, off the drawing board.
“If you want to get romantic about it ... we felt that there was never going to be a better sign from God that it was time to make a change,” he told BusinessWest, adding that he and Real were both working day jobs, from home, during the pandemic. Motivated by this ‘sign’ from above, they used the extra hour and half they gained
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