Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company Named 2019 Small Business of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration’s San Francisco District Office

Capital Access Group (www.capitalaccess.com),
a commercial real estate lender specializing in U.S. Small Business
Administration (SBA) 504 loans for growing businesses, applauds Diana
Hagan, Lynn Stray, and Jill Basch, co-owners of Point
Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company, on being named the 2019 Small
Business of the Year for the SBA’s San Francisco District, which serves
fourteen counties in Northern California. Capital Access nominated Point
Reyes Farmstead Cheese for the award.

Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese, a second-generation, family-owned business
located in Point Reyes Station, CA, is known for its artisanal,
all-natural approach to cheesemaking. Founded in 1959 by Bob and Dean
Giacomini, the business started out as a 720-acre dairy farm, producing
some of the highest quality milk in the North Bay. In 2000, three of Bob
and Dean’s daughters joined the business and transitioned it from milk
production to environmentally sustainable cheesemaking to reduce stress
on the land they love and honor.

“We were so pleased to nominate Diana, Lynn, and Jill for this
prestigious award,” said Jacklyn Jordan, President and CEO, Capital
Access Group. “These amazing women have not only built an iconic brand
with award-winning, artisanal cheeses, they also created the conditions
for a more sustainable business that will serve future generations.”

In 2018, the sisters secured $7.8 million in SBA 504 financing through
Capital Access Group to purchase a 20,000-square-foot facility in
Petaluma, CA, for a new, state-of-the-art, cheese production and
distribution facility.

“It is an honor to be recognized by the SBA’s San Francisco District
Office as their 2019 Small Business of the Year, and we are grateful to
Capital Access Group and the SBA for supporting our vision, but the real
credit belongs to our employees,” said Diana Giacomini Hagan, CFO, Point
Reyes Farmstead Cheese. “This has been a really exciting time for our
company, and our employees are over the moon about our growth plan and
excited for the opportunity to grow on the job and learn new skills.
None of this would have been possible without their support.”

The company currently employs 85 people and expects to add up to 15 new
hires over the next 2 years, with the goal of doubling cheese production
in the next five years.

“We are fortunate to be able to produce our products in two locations in
Marin and Sonoma, but we believe we have a greater responsibility to the
larger community, to the economic environment, and to the agricultural
landscape of the North Bay,” said Jill Giacomini Basch, CMO, Point Reyes
Farmstead Cheese. “We're focused on being business-oriented
conservationists, because we realize that the cheese starts not just
with healthy animals but with how we take care of the pastures. Only
through sustainable farming practices can the land itself pay the
necessary dividends beneficial to the future of our business—allowing us
to raise healthy animals that produce the highest quality milk.”

About Capital Access Group: Capital Access Group is a leading
statewide Certified Development Company based in San Francisco,
authorized by the U.S. Small Business Administration to provide
long-term, fixed-rate financing through the SBA 504 loan program, which
offers 90% financing to business owners for the purchase, renovation, or
construction of commercial real estate for their growing businesses.
Currently, the SBA 504 interest rate is 4.36%, fully amortized and fixed
for 20 years. For more information, please visit www.capitalaccess.com.

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