A Solvang business, Broken Clock Vinegar Works (www.brokenclockvinegarworks.com), has been named the recipient of the North County EconAlliance’s Innovation Award for 2020. This award recognizes a business that is impacting the area through new ideas, products, practices and technologies. This year the award was given at the Virtual Future Forum which featured keynote speaker Mathew Griffin, an international futurist and the Founder and CEO of the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures consultancy working between the dates of 2020 to 2070.
Award recipient Broken Clock Vinegar Works was started in 2016 by Solvang residents Charles and Jody Williams, under a cottage food license. The duo quickly outgrew that capacity and in 2017, moved into a larger industrial space with a full winery license. Their products span a variety of shrubs and vinegars which are marketed to use in cooking, marinades, dressings and cocktails, or just sparkling water.
Broken Clock Vinegar Works is unlike other shrub producers as they operate under a winery license to produce fruit wines which are then acetified into vinegar. These vinegars are then used as the base for their shrubs. To their knowledge, they are the only shrub producer handling the process completely in-house, from farm to product.
They also provide an outlet for farms to use fruit that would have otherwise gone to waste, creating a new sales channel for those farms. All of these relationships have a positive impact on the economic vitality of the North County and provide tourists another unique experience while they visit the California Central Coast.
The Economic Alliance Foundation (EconAlliance) is a 501c3 nonprofit organization which has a mission to “Build Awareness, Advocacy and Appreciation for Northern Santa Barbara County Industries and Communities”. The organization champions the North County sectors that fuel local communities and inspire regional prosperity and worker opportunities. This cross-industry alliance serves as the only organization solely focused on Northern Santa Barbara County industries. Visit their website at www.econalliance.org.
To learn more about Broken Clock Vinegar Works visit www.brokenclockvinegarworks.com, or call 805-245-7389 to schedule a visit. They are currently open for to-go bottles only, but look forward to welcoming back customers for tastings once permitted to do so.