Alum Opens First Brewery
Post Published On:Thomas University alumnus Harrison Isaacs’ long-time real estate experience has led him to open the first-ever brewery in Colquitt County.
Isaacs is the co-owner of Bandwagon Brewing Company, which opened its doors to patrons in December. It is located at 33 W. Central Ave., Moultrie, GA 31768. He is also the founder of Intrie Capital, a real estate investment firm.
Born in an entrepreneurial family, Isaacs was introduced to the world of real estate at an early age. In high school, he worked to help renovate buildings and lease them back to people in the community to bring businesses to his hometown of Moultrie.
Isaacs later went off to college, but later transferred to Thomas University because it was closer to home and offered flexibility.
“The ability to have hybrid courses was one of the best positive things that I saw,” he said. “It was split between online work and also time in front of a professor. That balance is better than strictly online and in-person because it doesn’t take up much of your time being in class all the time. You can do kind of self-learning and reading outside of the classroom and then go into the classroom and ask questions in person, in front of your professor.”
Isaacs graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Thomas University in 2017.
Since then, he founded Intrie Capital, which offers development, investment, and consulting services for the construction, renovation, and property management of commercial buildings in Moultrie.
“I love construction,” Isaacs said. “It is challenging, but also rewarding because at the end you have a tangible asset that you can be proud of and can see the rewards not only on the return on the investment, but also a return of seeing the downtown prosper.”
While finding success in real estate, Isaacs said he was approached by a city council member to help bring a brewery to the city of Moultrie.
“It started out where I was just going to play a role in the real estate side, but then I understood that I really need to also focus on the operations side,” he said. “Since it was a specialized property where I was going to be renovating and building it out, I wanted to play a role on the operations side as well. Just for the protection of it. It is not like, for example, renovating an office space and if three years down the line the (tenant) decides that they want a bigger space and they are moving to another area, it is easier to find someone to rent that office space. But a brewery, if it grows or it doesn’t work out, finding someone to fill that is a difficult task.”
Since the brewery was opened nearly four months ago, Isaacs said the community and those outside of Moultrie have been “super excited” that a brewery is now in Moultrie. Bandwagon Brewing Co. offers craft beer, cask beer, snacks, live music, beer tastings, trivia nights, and more.
“They are very surprised when they walk into the space to see something like this exist in Moultrie, Georgia,” Isaacs said. “There have been several people that have been from out of town. Most recently as far as New Jersey.”
Isaacs said his education allowed him to be successful in real estate and his new business venture.
“I had the foundational understanding with my undergraduate degree from Thomas University,” he said. “Then on top of that my education and experience going through and learning more about (business) in my graduate program at Georgetown University. Both of those educational experiences gave me the confidence and understanding of the dynamics of business well enough to take on the risks of this project.”
