At 30 years old, Michale Beraki is making a name for himself in the liquor and marijuana industry.

Beraki, the owner of Federal Way’s Noble Spirits liquor store, is a Seattle entrepreneur who emigrated from Eritrea, a small East African country, 13 years ago. Since then, he’s worked to grow his four small businesses in the Puget Sound region.

“I love this country; it’s a great country,” Beraki said. “If you work hard, you can make it. It’s still the land of opportunity.”

Beraki and another co-owner won a Seattle liquor store at auction for $291,000 after Washington privatized liquor in 2012 with the voter-approved Initiative 1183. Thinking they would be successful because the state-owned liquor stores were highly profitable, Beraki and his partner bid on another location in Lynnwood for $230,000.

Beraki said the state had 100 percent control of the margin, but when privatization occurred, revenue that went toward public services declined and the state had to implement a 17 percent fee on their margin.

“We sort of missed that when I bought the two liquor stores,” he said. “Business became very hard.”

Having to compete with chain stores selling liquor, Beraki had to lay off employees and couldn’t get out of the liquor licenses.

“At that time, we had invested a lot of money,” he said. “We paid the state over $550,000, signed a five-year lease, and I gave them my personal guarantee.”

In order to survive, they decided to expand Noble Spirits so they could buy in bulk and get discounts on product.

In February 2015, Beraki purchased the Federal Way location and an Auburn location.

“I was especially excited about Federal Way because, as you already know, it has great parking, it’s a great location, and it’s away from our main competitor, which is Total Wine and More, ” he said.

But business has still been tough, he said. Crime around the Federal Way location was prevalent, and there have been some accidents.

“People trying to steal, breaking in doors,” he listed.

But he’s still determined.

“One of the things I’ve done since I opened was try to make it local,” he said. “Anyone who is local, small distilleries – we’re trying to make it feel like a local store as opposed to a California store.”

Beraki said Noble Spirits will often carry Washington wines, a selection they’ve expanded, as well as incorporating unique liquors that chain stores, like Safeway, don’t have the ability to carry.

And with over 2,000 products, Beraki still introduces new spirits with an emphasis on rums and tequilas for the summertime.

During Beraki’s ventures in the liquor industry, Initiative 502 was also on the horizon.

He said when marijuana became legal, many people in the liquor industry were hoping the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (formerly known as the Washington State Liquor Control Board) would license liquor stores with marijuana retail licenses.

The regulations for liquor and marijuana retail outlets are the same – a 1,000-foot buffer between schools, parks, libraries, and pretty much anywhere that kids would be.

“So people were expecting liquor stores to get the license,” he said. “We tried to see if we could get the license. I got interested because of that. A lot of people were asking about that and it kind of triggered my interest. “

He applied for the lottery but didn’t win, and he’s since become a partner of Rainier Cannabis in Shoreline.

Although Beraki and his partner are trying to open a second Rainier Cannabis location in Mountlake Terrace, for which they have a license, the city wants only one marijuana retail store open despite being allowed two.

Their third license is for King County at large, meaning they can set up shop anywhere in the county.

“I’ve been trying to open in Federal Way but, as you already know, there’s a ban,” he said. “A lot of people from Federal Way go all the way to Tacoma, far places, to purchase. To me, that doesn’t make sense because the city collects taxes.”

Beraki said he’d love to have a Federal Way Rainier Cannabis because he believes there’s an under-served market.

“The customers at my liquor store, most consume cannabis – both [liquor and cannabis],” he said. “I think I’ll be serving, in a way, my own customers.”

Before Beraki moved to Washington, he owned two businesses as a teenager in Eritrea. According to his LinkedIn profile, he worked as a translator with the United Nations.

“As soon as he arrived to [the] U.S., he decided to be his own boss and have an opportunity to create jobs to his brothers, sisters, community members, friends, while providing assistance to needy family members left behind in Africa,” his LinkedIn profile states.

Along with his liquor and marijuana retails stores, Beraki owns a non-emergency transportation service company called Essence Transportation, a money transfer company, and an adult nursing home.

For more information on Noble Spirits in Federal Way, visit noblespirits.com.