California / BACKROADS CULTURE

Shasta Lake

A business starts with encouragement from someone nearby.

CommunityFood & wineWork & industry

Dedicated town story

John and Amanda Hutchings connect their brewery’s beginnings with a home-brew kit, apples outside their rented home and encouragement to keep going. At Oasis, Trevor Smith describes generations playing together. Alongside Heritage’s wish to bring people together over coffee, the accounts show what a local business can make possible beyond a transaction.

A participant wearing a gray shirt speaks during an indoor interview.
An interview from Backroads Culture’s Shasta Lake film; participant name not assigned to this frame.Backroads Culture / SPYR Media Group · Film frame 00:06.50
A newly built multi-story building and outdoor terrace stand beside a street.
A changing streetscape in the Shasta Lake film. Frame from a Backroads Culture archive video.Backroads Culture / SPYR Media Group · Film frame 00:11.56
A participant wearing a white hard hat and reflective vest speaks during an interview.
Housing and the city’s future in the Shasta Lake film; participant name not assigned to this frame.Backroads Culture / SPYR Media Group · Film frame 00:29.00
A red-and-green Farmers Market Place sign stands on a white building.
A local market frontage. Frame from a Backroads Culture archive video.Backroads Culture / SPYR Media Group · Film frame 00:09.29
An aerial view follows a broad road past Shasta Lake storefronts and trees.
A city at street level. Frame from a Backroads Culture archive video.Backroads Culture / SPYR Media Group · Film frame 00:00.62

Give someone the confidence to start

The Hutchings’ account makes the risk of building a brewery concrete through its small beginnings and local encouragement.

Make room for people together

The Heritage conversation centers on knowing people; Smith’s mini-golf memory brings a grandfather and great-grandchild into shared play.

MORE FROM SHASTA LAKE

Keep watching

Shasta Dam: a short reservoir view

YouTube · Nearby landscape · Shasta Dam

Shasta Dam: a short reservoir view

Backroads Culture

Open original film ↗

About this story

An editorial account drawn from Backroads Culture’s original reporting and project material. The coverage label describes what is available here. Original media and collaboration credits accompany the work. Dates and offers in archive reels belong to their original publication.

FOLLOW ANOTHER STORY

Keep taking the backroads

FOR DESTINATIONS & COMMUNITIES

Your place has a story worth finding.

Explore the strategy, films and campaigns behind our work.

See our destination work ↗