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Bottom's Up: How a Kombucha Bar Took Root in Virginia

A small-batch brewer rethinks the probiotic favorite.

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By Jodi Helmer

photo © Brad Howell

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Entrepreneur: After graduating from Virginia Tech, Leslie Crews started brewing kombucha—the probiotic tea drink believed by many to have health benefits related to digestion and mood—in the spare bedroom of her Virginia Beach townhouse.

"Aha" moment: Crews, a onetime bartender, brewed various flavors of the fermented beverage for herself. When she showed up at parties with bottles of her concoctions, friends fell in love and started placing orders. "I decided it was time to get out of the spare bedroom and set up a legitimate business," recalls Crews, who left her job as a government contractor in 2010 to start Kombuchick.

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