Today we’d like to introduce you to Colleen Quinn.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I’m Colleen, co-owner & GM of Atomic Clock Brewing in Durham, NC. I started my career post college as a Corporate Strategist for a big used car company. While that was a great place to start my career, and I learned a lot, used cars were not something I was passionate about. I left that job to pursue a career in craft beer – something I loved personally, but had never considered professionally. My roles in craft beer spanned strategy, finance, operations, sales, marketing, portfolio management, mergers & acquisitions, consulting, and more. Basically everything except brewing beer! Slightly before I jumped into the craft beer industry, my older brother had started brewing and began his own separate journey in the industry. We talked for years about joining forces and starting a brewery together and then in 2024 after years of sibling arguments over many details and getting our plans in place, we finally opened Atomic Clock Brewing. I think our combined experiences and familiarity with each others strengths and weaknesses is what makes us strong business partners as we navigate a tough, dynamic, and very fun craft beer industry!
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Opening a small business is never easy, no matter how much experience you have. Couple that with the fact that we opened into a more mature, slow growing phase of craft beer has certainly put pressure both on us as a new brewery trying to gain traction as well as all of the established craft breweries out there. I would say in our first 2+ years of opening the key challenges were slower than anticipated growth combined with rising costs across all aspects of the business. But we’ve been able to power through those by leaning on each other, our experiences, and controlling what we can control while keeping an open mind to new ideas and opportunities to drive growth!
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Atomic Clock Brewing Company?
Atomic Clock Brewing opened in 2024 in the historic warehouse district in Durham, NC. We brew a wide variety of styles using exclusively local malt from our partner at Epiphany Craft Malt, helping us become some of the most hyper-local beer available in the Triangle. But we take pride in placing equal emphasis on quality of beer and quality of experience. As part of that focus on experience, we wanted to create a space where everyone could feel welcome so we’ve made sure to provide great food, wine, cocktails, and events in addition to releasing many great beers!
We often get asked about the name “Atomic Clock.” Atomic clocks are the world’s most precise time-keeping devices and several around the world collectively establish international time. Because of that, we felt the atomic clock represented our brewing & business philosophy – a continuous pursuit of perfection, a collaborative spirit, and the celebration of innovation.
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
I would tell anyone to connect with others in the industry and don’t be afraid to ask “dumb questions.” For the most part those questions aren’t dumb at all and people are always wanting to share their experience to help the next person trying to break through.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/atomicclockbrewing
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/atomicclockbrewing
