On her final day there, Ferrara was facing the prospect of changing her travel plans to buy more time. At 10 p.m. the night before she was supposed to fly back, she received good news. Stone was in town and wanted to meet.

Ferrara and Steve Wagner, Stone’s president and brewmaster, grabbed a table at the Colorado Convention Center and talked about Richmond for an hour and a half.

Ferrara suggested Stone talk to New Belgium to get a feel for what Richmond and its craft beer scene had to offer. Wagner said he already had, and had heard good things.

“After that meeting, I said, ‘Just please come up and visit us. If you would just come and visit us, you’ll understand,’ ” Ferrara said.

By May, Stone had narrowed its short list to 10. Downey and Ferrara traveled to Escondido to meet with the company. While there, they learned that Stone was planning to visit all 10 potential locations, and Richmond would be one of the first.

Knowing they had only a short time to prepare, Downey and Ferrara went out on a patio to contact the home office. With smoke in the air from wildfires tearing through San Diego County, the duo snapped pictures of Stone’s briefing report and started sending them back to Richmond.

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