At Cape May Brewing Company and Cape Beverage, we really love promoting from within. It’s great to see a member of the Brew Crew who may have started at an entry-level job in the Tasting Room or in Packaging further their career by getting a job in the marketing department or moving up the chain to Cellarperson.

When Noelle Smuz began working in the Brewtique this past September, she was hoping to do exactly that.

“When I interviewed Noelle, I could tell she would do well in our company,” says Director of People Operations Christine Bry. “She has a calm demeanor, does not let herself get flustered — or at least does not show it –, and is great with personal interactions. Yes, she was enthusiastic about working here. Not a pest, but persistent — I can’t fault her for that!”

Congratulate Noelle on her promotion to Accounts Receivable and Credit Specialist for Cape Beverage!

“I’m very excited!” Noelle says. “Working over here in the Cape Bev offices is so much better. Not that I didn’t like working in the Brewtique, because I like my people over there, but I like it over here.

“But I still get over there for shifites.”

When Noelle applied here, she was looking for something a little meatier than working in the Brewtique but really wanted to work here. 

“I was a thorn in Christine’s side until I got what I wanted,” she laughs.

Thankfully, it didn’t take long for Noelle to find something a little more to her liking — it was only about four months from her initial hire to beginning in her position in Accounting. Regardless, her time in the Brewtique was invaluable for preparing her to work in the office.

“Working in the Brewtique, I was able to learn about all the beers we offer,” she says. “I knew our core brands pretty well, but I didn’t come to the Tasting Room often before I started working here, so I didn’t know too much about our Tasting Room-only releases or our limited draft releases.”

Noelle did a lot of accounting work at her previous positions: at Sturdy Bank, she did all of the ordering and budgeting for the branch, and at a property management company, she handled accounts payable.

“But I really wanted to work for this company,” she says. “I knew Brad, and I knew that he really liked it. And when I’d come to the Tasting Room, I could definitely point out the people who worked here, and everybody seemed really happy.”

As the Accounts Receivable and Credit Specialist for Cape Beverage, she has to make some tough decisions. She’s our front line in getting the accounts at Cape Beverage to pay their bills. If an account falls behind in payment, we’ll put them on COD — Cash On Delivery — and, sometimes, people aren’t too happy about that.

“It hasn’t been a challenge so far, because I haven’t gotten someone who’s very angry about being on COD yet,” she says, “but I’m pretty good with people who are angry, because they’re not angry at me, so I don’t get all worked up about it. People who yell and scream just want someone to yell and scream at. And they’re meaner over the phone.”

However, Noelle approaches the process with heart: she understands that cash flow for businesses can be difficult sometimes, so she gives them ample time after sending a notice. She’ll contact the salesperson and have them reach out to the account.

“But, if you don’t answer your salesperson, there’s not much I can do for you,” she says. 

Cape Beverage has a lot planned in the next few months, and Noelle is looking forward to being a part of it.

“I’m looking forward to seeing it grow,” she says. “As Cape May Brewing Company grows, the more opportunities there are for the people to work at Cape Beverage.”

She finds our expansion into Delaware to be great news — primarily for her friends in Delaware.

“They’re always like, ‘Why can’t I find your beer here? Can you send me some?”’ she says. “I’m like, ‘I can’t overnight you beer!’”

A growing company is great for everyone — not only for our fans who have better access to our beers, but it presents a lot of opportunities for the people who work here.

“I’m definitely looking forward to the future of Cape Beverage,” she says. “The more it grows, the more I can grow with the company.

“And I plan to be here for a good, long time.”

You’ll see Noelle in the Tasting Room for shifties — be sure to congratulate her!