Today we’d like to introduce you to Bill Cronin.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
The idea came together in early 2018, ultimately leading to our first taproom opening in November 2019. We operated in that space for the first five years, leading to our January 2025 move to our current, much larger space one block north of the original.
The brewery story is similar to many … a group of guys wishing to have a connective gathering place to enjoy great craft beer. We didn’t want a kitchen, and were heavily informed by the great food trucks in Southern MN, that we could pair well and make this beer-food model work. We’ve also connected with our rich musical talent in the area, supporting live music every Saturday evening. All of it adds up to an experience we strive to realize, serving as Owatonna’s living room.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
We opened just four months ahead of the onset of Covid and all the challenges of it. In reflection, there were many valuable business lessons and decisions we made during that time, but navigating it at the time was quite challenging and uncertain. One of the valuable lessons was the creation of a brewery experience through our winter igloos, which we purchased to supplement limited capacity due to Covid restrictions. Those igloos are still a very fun, branded part of the MSB winter experience.
In our first six years as well, we’ve had two distinct experiences building out brewhouse and taproom space. Our first location was a remodel of a small warehouse space, adapting our brewery/taproom wish list to match the footprint and infrastructure of the building, while also having no experience to build on in terms of operating and selling our product in the market. The second experience benefited richly from the experience from the first, and also wasn’t inhibited by a pre-set building footprint. We were able to imagine and plan, which led to a much more functional and practical space in our current building.
As you know, we’re big fans of Mineral Springs Brewery. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Mineral Springs Brewery was developed with a great amount of intention toward becoming a community asset. That manifested itself first in terms of offering a great place to socialize and enjoy craft beer. As MSB has evolved over the six-plus years in operation, the business has grown into an asset not only for great beer and connection, but also for community awareness and non-profit fundraising. Our new event space has opened options for family, friends, business, non-profits, and others to leverage the space for their own needs and wishes, and that’s been very fulfilling.
Relating to the non-profit side, we’re very proud of our support of many local causes. To-date in 2025, MSB has been a catalyst raising tens of thousands of dollars for Make-A-Wish, Community Pathways, Let’s Smile, United Way, Beyond the Yellow Ribbon, Habitat for Humanity, and many others.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
The brewery business has experienced a boom over the past decade in Minnesota, as opportunities opened up for local craft beer operations. We opened as part of that lift. That boom has settled a bit, and the industry is now facing some of the realities of the boom and the capacity in the market. There’s been a fair amount of chatter about brewery closures of-late, and those certainly have happened. However, most are surprised that more taprooms opened last year in Minnesota than closed. The industry is still very rich and viable, and it’s still seeing many new taprooms/breweries. I sense the industry is maturing, and resulting in some settling out. We’re working hard to adapt along with the shifting market, and we feel that’s a key to the next 5-10 years, just like the evolution that occurred in the last 5-10 that created us.
A fact of MSB is that we’re as much (or more) an entertainment business as we are a brewery. We have great beer, slushies, seltzers, food trucks, and more, and we work hard to always have those foundational items. However, we’ve learned we also need to provide a great ‘reason’ to come in beyond those foundational things. Those reasons could be weekly music, TriviaMafia, Initials Game Live, Name That Tune, MSBGO, private event bookings, or any other of our ongoing activities. It feels like that’s the area we need to continue to spark and explore to ensure we’re viable 5-10 years out and beyond.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://mineralspringsbrewery.com
- Instagram: mineralspringsbrewery
- Facebook: mineralspringsbrewery
