Three businesses honored with recognition

The Forum and the Greater Shreveport Chamber of Commerce are proud to name three local businesses as Businesses of the Year for 2014. Awards go to Fire Tech Systems, Great Raft Brewing and Rhino Coffee for their outstanding success and civic contributions. The nominations for The Forum Small Business of the Year are solicited from the greater Shreveport business community, and The Senior Council of Retired Executives decides the winners.

Linda Biernacki of Fire Tech Systems

Fire Tech Systems’ owner and founder Linda Biernacki sees a bright future for a company with more than 24 years of experience.

Founded in 1990, Fire Tech Systems brings a notable record to designing, installing, servicing and inspecting fire protection systems all across the Ark- La-Tex.

Biernacki brings more than 31 years of experience to the fire protection industry and is looking forward to expanding within the next six months.

“With over 24 years in business and 10 years at our location in Shreveport, we decided to expand our services in Northwest Louisiana by opening a new office in West Monroe this [month],” Biernacki said.

“We are also working on plans to expand the Shreveport office within the next six months to allow for growth at our primary location. Both these actions will allow us the opportunity to expand our reach, explore more partnerships and subcontracts with other small businesses as well as create jobs in North West Louisiana. The future here at Fire Tech is bright and that benefits not only our company but Shreveport, Caddo Parish and Northwest Louisiana.”

Biernacki said with this award comes a great honor.

“Being selected for this award [confirms] that Fire Tech Systems is on the right track with continuous improvements emphasizing the upmost importance of quality service and always striving to give our customers that extra little lagniappe,” she said.

With this recognition, Biernacki said she hopes to expand their customer base.

“Fire Tech could potentially expand its customer and employee base due to customers and employees wanting to align themselves with a stable and award-winning company, which not only benefits Fire Tech but the local economy as well,” Biernacki said. “But more importantly, the increased exposure will help raise awareness of the importance of protecting homes and businesses with fire sprinklers and fire alarms as they truly do save lives and property, and that is why Fire Tech and all our employees do what we do.”

Fire Tech Systems also gives back to the community and is involved in several philanthropic efforts such as Sci-Port: Louisiana’s Science Center, The Robinson Film Center, The Historic Strand Theatre, Shreveport Symphony, Krewe of Gemini, The Red River Revel and Cohab. “All are so important to the vitality of our community. We also have our upcoming Christmas toy drive to assist the Marine Corps Toys for Tots Foundation,” Biernacki said.

A few of Fire Tech Systems clients are the Regions Tower, Caddo Parish Courthouse District, Bossier Parish Community College, Holy Angels, Willis-Knighton, Libbey Glass, Shreveport Convention Center and Sci-Port.

Go to www.firetechsystems.com, for more information.

Lindsay and Andrew Nations of Great Raft Brewing

About two years ago, Great Raft Brewing Founders Lindsay and Andrew Nations made a move from Washington, D.C. back to their hometown of Shreveport to open a brewery.

“This decision has been validated through the outpouring of support, and is something we celebrate every time we get to share our passion with the wonderful people here,” Lindsay said.

Great Raft Brewing, located at 1251 Dazell, opened just over a year ago and offers tours and a tasting room. The brewery is a participant of BREW and other notable events throughout Shreveport-Bossier City and the United States. “Our first year has been amazing,” Lindsay said. “The support from the community has been tremendous and we’ve enjoyed introducing a variety of styles of beer. We try to keep things as interesting as possible, by providing seasonal and small-batch options throughout the year. The flagships are highly drinkable and available yearround. But experimenting with new styles, seasonals and local ingredients add a new level of interest. The tasting room has been a great way to engage directly with consumers and receive their feedback.”

Lindsay said Great Raft always wanted to share their beer throughout the state and region. “Taking care of our own backyard was focus No.1,” she said. “The people of Shreveport- Bossier and Northwest Louisiana were clearly ready for a local beer, and have supported us from day one. Without them, we wouldn’t be where we are today or able to expand. There are so many unknowns when you start a business, including how the community will respond to your product. We’ve been extremely fortunate that our hard work has been recognized and embraced, not only by consumers, but retailers and small business owners as well.”

Great Raft Brewing first rolled out its three flagship beers: Southern Drawl, a clean, easy-drinking pale lager; Commotion, a pale ale with tropical aromas; Reasonably Corrupt, a black lager that’s dark but not heavy.

Since opening, Great Raft has added the following seasonal and small-batch brews to their rotating lineup of offerings: All My Tomorrows, a rustic saison that’s earthy and fruity with intense aromatics of juicy citrus; Creature of Habit, a roasty, brown ale made with an exclusive Rhino bean blend that will be available this fall; and Grace and Grit, a hoppy, an assertive Double IPA with staggering aromas of citrus and grapefruit. Their next seasonal offering, an India Pale Lager called At Arm’s Length, is a tropical, hoppy version of a German lager. This beer will be launched as part of Louisiana Craft Brewers Week, on Sept. 24 and 25. Lindsay said being honored this year is encouraging to their business.

“Winning a Small Business of the Year award [means] that in our first year we accomplished what we set out to do, which is become a mainstay in the community,” Lindsay said.

Go to www.greatraftbrewing.com, or facebook.com/ GreatRaftBrewing, for more information.

Andrew Crawford of Rhino Coffee

Andrew Crawford hates to admit how many cups of black coffee he drinks a day, though he loves that Shreveport-Bossier City residents can’t seem to get enough of the variety of roasts and flavors available at Rhino Coffee.

“Our goal was to make [Rhino] a community center where everyone can come together and hang out,” Crawford said. “We are thrilled because I think that coffee shops help build community.”

With two years under their belt, Rhino is heavy in working with the members of the community whether promoting an event or even hosting a meeting for a startup business.

“It’s good to have the industry build,” Crawford said.

With their location being blocks away from Starbucks on Line Avenue, Crawford saw his location as a strategic move.

“Starbucks is good for the industry.

They help us with some of our standards. If someone goes in line at Starbucks and doesn’t have time to wait, we pop up right next to them,” Crawford said. “If we stay together it is good for the industry.”

Crawford said being honored as a small business shows they are making their way in the community.

“Our goal is to expand,” Crawford said. “There’s always hope [for another location] but nothing that I can say as of yet.”

Along with a possible expansion, Rhino has rolled out a new roast called the Holy Rhino.

“It’s a dark roast in partnership with Holy Angels. It’s been a fun partnership,” Crawford said. “The community is our business so we try whenever we can to partner with people in the community.”

Enlisting the help of Chef Pat Bolling, Rhino also offers a breakfast and lunch menu.

Go to rhinocoffee.com or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ RhinoCoffee.

Awards Luncheon:

The J. Pat Beaird is an annual event hosted by the Chamber to celebrate the top industry and businesses of the year. This year the luncheon will take place 11:30 a.m. Sept. 25 at the Shreveport Country Club. Register at www.shreveportchamber.org.