RANCHO CORDOVA, CA (MPG) - Opening a new brewery can be hard. Opening a new brewery in the middle of a pandemic is very hard"'as the owners of one of Rancho Cordova’s newest breweries attest and celebrate their One Year Anniversary Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting on June 18-20, 2021, starting at 12 noon of Friday.

James Noss and Matt Risse, owners of LogOff Brewery, were originally tech guys who enjoyed brewing their own beer as a hobby. Risse said he had never tried a beer Noss made that he didn’t like. Once they came to the realization that they knew what they were doing, they started planning to open a brewery and log off from their desk jobs.

“It’s really about our philosophy of life I think,” Risse said. “We’re kind of anti-stress so we believe… [in] logging off of whatever it is that’s stressful in life and enjoying the things that bring you joy; and we think drinking craft beer is a great way to do that.”

After building the brewery from the ground up, LogOff was set to open in March of 2020. As the pandemic hit, Noss and Risse decided to hold off on their grand opening and wait for things to die down. They both eventually realized nothing was dying down any time soon"' it was now or never.

On June 10, 2020, LogOff Brewing opened its doors with a socially distanced outdoor patio. However, due to protocols mandated days after they opened, the city stopped indoor dining and made take-out-only mandatory. Since LogOff was a brewery, they didn’t have a food menu to cater to take-out needs.

In response, the two turned to their mothers, who had restaurant and food experience. Their moms began catering for the brewery daily, which kept them afloat during take-out-only mandates.

“It’s been difficult navigating the restrictions… the shutdowns… mask mandates and the whole pandemic in general,” Noss said.

Another challenge that LogOff faced was that they could only seat people outdoors during the heat waves and wildfires that hit from late August to early September. Smoke and heat in Sacramento made it uncomfortable to sit outside and enjoy a beer.

Luckily, LogOff has some great regulars and community members who have supported them through these tough times.

Beverly Littlejohn and Terry White have supported the brewery since its grand opening. As locals in Rancho Cordova, they often visit breweries in the barrel district, but now LogOff feels like their new home brewery.

“We do LogOff Thursdays every week. We meet friends and we’ve done that for months now. It’s become our home brewery"' this is our home,” Littlejohn said.

Now, Risse and Noss are working on expanding their brewery in the property adjacent to LogOff. Although it’s been a long journey, they are continuing with the learning process of brewing the best beer for their customers.

“It’s about the people and then also the craft itself, learning and becoming better brewers, and making better beer,” Noss said.