Amanda and Phillip McLamb

CO-FOUNDERS, RESIDENT CULTURE BREWING

Amanda and Phillip met in New York City through friends. While Phillip says he was into Amanda early on, it wasn’t until he helped her move that sparks started to fly. “I ended up realizing how much I liked this wonderful person who had spent his day lugging boxes around for his friend,” she says. Charlotte, Phillip’s hometown, was a natural fit for putting down roots and raising their children, Piper and Isla. They opened Resident Culture Brewing on Central Avenue in 2017 and expanded with a second location in South End in January 2022.

“The best part about working together is that I have long been in love with my partner for the person that he is and the way he loves and supports the people in his personal life,” Amanda says. “Getting to see him in his professional space and sharing … a vision together — even when we don’t align perfectly — it has given me a greater depth of love and appreciation for his brain and the way his mind works. We’re also very different in some of the ways we operate, and they hugely complement each other.”

The hardest part, Amanda says, is learning how to turn “work” off when they leave the office. “We are still the final point of contact for emergencies and issues that come up, so one of us (and usually both of us) will have to step in to problem-solve in real time.”

“It is challenging for sure because our minds are always thinking about the business, how we can be better and how we can grow smartly and efficiently,” Phillip adds. “That being said, Piper and Isla are more important to us than anything else, so we make time for them regardless of how much the business pulls us in one direction or another. We want them to know that it is possible to have a healthy balance between work and family.” He says working together helps their marriage, too. “Getting to see Amanda lead our business with empathy and compassion has only strengthened my love for her.”