Today we’d like to introduce you to Christopher Daniels.
Hi Christopher, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
35 years ago I bought a beer brewing kit for $5 at a yard sale. Home brewed beer for about 30 years. Born and raised in Maine and about 15 years ago I met my wife, a Minnesotan who had married a Mainer in college and moved to Maine then got divorced. We were together a few years when her aging parents in Minnesota started falling ill. As a registered nurse she wanted to come home and take care of parents and I came with her. After about 8 years of caring for her parents they had gotten so healthy that we knew were going to be here for a while. So in 2019 we purchased an abandoned convenience store/gas station in Grove City Minnesota for a song. It was rough but we knew it was a diamond. Started doing demolition on it. Not quite sure what we were going to do yet – then COVID hit and we shut it down. During the isolation of COVID we made lots of plans and we finally decided that we would remodel the convenience store and turn it into a Brewpub. We designed every single thing about it. The building plans, the name, the logo everything ourselves and the Minnesota BEER Company was born. Construction started in 2022 We did as much of the construction as we were allowed by law to do to save money and we celebrated opening in May of 2023. There was sadness too as COVID had taken both of my wife’s parents before they ever got to see us open. Owning and running the Minnesota Beer Company has been a rewarding experience but it’s also been extremely challenging and continues to be so. It’s a tough time for alcohol sales in America right now and especially in the craft beer/brewery segment. We have no idea what the future holds but it’s been one strange trip so far.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Obviously planning and having construction occur during COVID and opening at the end of COVID added a lot of layers of challenges. Delays in construction by contractors, delays and getting plans approved through county and state levels. We planned on opening in September of 2022 and all our bank loan payments started being due in September of 2022 but due to all the above stated challenges including an especially snowy winter we didn’t open till May of 2023. Since opening we have faced increasing challenges with the economy. Inflation, cost of goods sold and an evolving market where customer preferences have taken a quantum shift.
We’ve been impressed with Minnesota Beer Company , but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We are a small brew pub in Grove City Minnesota. A brew pub is basically a restaurant with a liquor license that can brew its own beer. We have an ever evolving food menu as well as different beers and cocktails available. What sets us apart besides being in an abandoned convenience store is the fact that we have a self-pour wall. Customers pour their own beer which means no waiting and no tipping.
What’s next?
We have a very uncertain future. The economic challenges we face are severe especially combined with the shifts in customer preferences.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.minnesotabeercompany.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/minnesota_beer_company
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100082989716351#
