Chris Montana is making history and giving back with the 1st Black-owned distillery in the United States

Thanks to Chris Montana, Du Nord Social Spirits is the first Black-owned distillery in the United States.

Montana and his wife, Shanelle, started the company together in his hometown Minneapolis, Minnesota. Montana told NBC News correspondent Kathy Park that he chose a meaningful location for the distillery.

“I used to walk past this space on my way to high school,” he said on Saturday TODAY. “As a kid, I didn’t have any concept of being a business owner. It’s like, what am I going to do that’s going to make enough money for me to support myself and just survive.”

At the time, Montana’s mom struggled to make ends meet. Soon, he found himself “couch surfing” in other people’s living rooms and “sleeping in folks’ basements” because he “didn’t have a home, per se.”

After high school, Montana went on to pursue a career in law and politics. But although it caught his interest, it didn’t capture his heart like brewing beer did. So Montana decided to get a little help from distillers across the country, who taught him everything that he needed to know to start a company.

“I went to my first distiller’s conference. I was the only Black guy in the room, I was the only Black person in the room,” he said.