Presenting

Mike and Leigh Harting are partners in life, love and lager. As proprietors of 3 Daughters Brewing, the largest brewery in St. Petersburg, the couple offer a fun, hip atmosphere for locals to grab a craft beer and unwind. Having met in the restaurant business over two decades ago, the pair seem to be a match made in heaven, whose paths drifted apart and then once again converged, bringing them to where they are today. Ask how they got here and they might alternately point to fate or dumb luck. Their story is one of surprises, humor, respect for one another, and a few twists and turns along the way. Though they work together to bring the best- tasting brews to the Tampa Bay area, they leave the day-to-day issues and concerns at the bar when they head home for the evening. Maybe that's the real secret to their harmonious, yin and yang relationship. A mutual regard for the importance of spending quality family time with their three lovely girls has kept the partnership strong and ever-evolving. How did you two meet? She Said We were both in the hospitality industry at different restaurants in Jacksonville—my kitchen had borrowed something and I had to return it. He opened the back door and there he was! en I was transferred to his restaurant for training. He Said at's where it all started. I was her boss for 30 days. She Said Yeah, that was the last time he was ever my boss! What happened after those 30 days? He Said I fired her. She Said No! I just went back to my original restaurant after I finished my training. He Said at was about 23 years ago. But we've been married for 15 years. After we first met, Leigh went back to Atlanta and I came to Tampa, where I was from. So there were four years in between. We didn't see each other for four whole years. She was working for Microsoft and she came down for a visit, we went out, then started dating long distance. And then we got married and had babies. How many children do you have? He Said ree little girls…three daughters. She Said at's kind of how it all started… "how many beers do we have to sell to put three girls through college?" He Said e girls are now 13, 12 and 7. She Said I have to check him… one time on a radio show he docked them all a year! He Said Well, they all change in age at different times. If they could do it at the same time it would be so much easier! How did you start your journey as brewers? He Said After I left Outback to open a restaurant of our own, we were always looking for what to do next. I asked our chef to brew a beer for a fish sandwich on our menu. He had never brewed before. It didn't do much to change the taste of the fish, but it turned out great, so I asked if he could put it on tap. It rapidly became our #1 beer. So we went looking for a brewhouse to do it on a larger scale. She Said Here's where it goes off the rails. He Said I went to California and found a brewhouse that was about to be sold. e funding fell through and I asked if we could have it. e guy said yes. She Said He called from California to tell me and I thought, well this puts us in a different industry…how did we go from $16,000 to $850,000? Essentially one barrel to 30 barrels. He Said I came home, raised some money—all of our investors are our friends of 15 years or Our Ziff Agency was being honored for its insurance success in Portugal She Said HE SAID Mike and Leigh Harting Owners, 3 Daughters Brewing, St. Petersburg 38 | GRAVITAS MAGAZINE GravitasMag.com

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