Though having a tumultuous history, rum distilling in Louisiana has been a practiced for centuries, with the area’s climate perfect for growing sugar cane. In the last decade or so, the distilling practice has gained momentum with local distilleries opening and producing rum around New Orleans. In February 2020, Meagen Moreland-Taliancich, along with her husband and business partner, opened Happy Raptor Distilling. With a bright future and big plans, the coronavirus pandemic quickly threw a wrench into the mix for Taliancich and team. Three years later, we check in with the femaled-owned distillery to see how they’ve bounced back, where they are with a few local programs and what’s next for Happy Raptor in New Orleans.
Q: What has the last two years looked like for Happy Raptor without full COVID restrictions? Let’s say, the last two years have continued our crash course in business resilience. For a while, it felt like the hits just kept on coming. In August 2021, we almost lost the business completely after Hurricane Ida. It took us a year to recover financially. A couple of months ago, a tragic shooting on Bacchus Sunday forced us to close the tasting room on Lundi Gras and Mardi Gras Day – our two biggest sales days of the year. It’s been a rough journey.
At the same time, the lessons we’ve learned from these early years have built a foundation that will serve Happy Raptor for decades. Watching our team grow stronger and our community gather around our doors has been incredible to witness. We are deeply grateful, and, as a founder, I feel a responsibility to build our experience into the DNA of the company for the long-term.
Q: What’s the biggest lesson you have learned so far? Personally, I was forced to learn how to care for myself first. I reached a point where living in survival mode was taking a huge toll – and I wasn’t giving myself the space to be human. I realized finally that if I can’t keep going, then there may not even be a company, regardless of how we’re doing financially. Just as important – my team needs that space, too. Normalizing mental health, the giving and receiving of hard feedback, and unapologetic rest are priorities we work on as a team every day.
Q: Have you been able to expand or go back to the vision you saw pre-pandemic? Yes and no. In some ways, we have been able to achieve – and exceed – a large number of the goals that we envisioned from day one. When we opened, I was the only employee. Today, we are 13 strong and growing. It was always our priority to give back to the community wherever possible, and now we work with over 100 nonprofit organizations a year.
Coming out of the pandemic, we’re noticing areas where our growth was stalled. Certain needs like expanding our distribution or digital outreach sometimes have gotten put on the backburner so we can focus on more immediate lines of revenue, or – in some instances – simply keeping the doors open. As a naturally impatient person, I get frustrated when I notice gaps in our strategy, but I have to remind myself that we simply weren’t able to develop certain aspects of the business until now. On the flip side, we’re so much better prepared and intentional now. We’re smarter and a little more weathered. So, it’s a pain and a blessing.
Q: What is your favorite part about owning and being a part of a distilling company? There is nothing better than having the power to say yes. Whether my team is dreaming up a kooky project, or a nonprofit partner wants to try something new, or we’re testing weird new infusion recipes – it’s absolutely the best feeling to say, “Let’s go for it”. Furthermore, being able to offer wholehearted support to our team and our community has taught me to say “yes” to the career that I have earned without sacrificing time with my kids.
Q: Tell us about your partnership and mentoring with area schools? We are so grateful to our community partners, like Holy Cross and Delgado, who share our vision for opening new career tracks for young people. Distilling has been a historically exclusionary field, and we want to change that. We learned through the process of developing an apprenticeship program that we underestimated the impact of that exclusion on our industry, and on people’s understanding of what we do. Many students don’t really know what distilling is, how it’s different from brewing, or how to picture themselves working in our field. In the aftermath of the hurricane, we decided to take a step back and start with education. Through partnerships with organizations like Sprout, Grow Dat, Turning Tables, and the American Craft Spirits Association, we are working to build awareness about distilling and lay the groundwork for a robust apprenticeship program in the future.
Q: What’s next? At Happy Raptor, we like to say that we learn the rules so we can break the rules. Creativity is at the heart of what we do. When we’re at our best, it feels like an adventure. This is the first time we’re looking ahead at an open road (knock on wood right now!) This summer, we are releasing two new additions to our line of 504Syrups, including our first fundraising product in partnership with Sprout NOLA. Later this fall, we’ll be announcing a brand-new addition to our year-round signature line of 504Rum – our first since 2020. (You’ll have to stay tuned to find out what it is!)
Personally, I’m looking forward to continuing to build on our community outreach. From engaging our neighborhood in Central City to finding even bigger ways to give, there’s so much more that we can do and that we should do. Fingers crossed – but I think we’re at a turning point to something really exciting and beautiful.
Lagniappe
Favorite thing to drink from Happy Raptor? 504Hibiscus Daiquiri
Favorite bar other than your own? Beachbum Berry’s Latitude 29
Favorite cocktail? Traditional Daiquiri with Haitian Clairin