From the first day I or anyone else has met Charles we knew he wanted to open a brewery.

It was obvious he has a passion for brewing and beyond that he has a unique way of doing it. His beers are different, they are special. They turn non-IPA drinkers into IPA drinkers. His beers turn non-drinkers into I’ll only have one or two. Using unique flavor combinations and local ingredients he brought life to the pallet.

So when things got serious after dating for a bit we decided to start exploring the options of opening a brewery. Me having numerous years of hospitality management under my belt, while Charles had the brewing knowledge down pat. I began looking for rental properties which within a few weeks clearly became a full-time job as each location had to be scanned for zoning, schools, parking etc.. After a bad night and yet another letdown I decided I was done doing this alone and googled commercial realtors in our area. I came across Heavenly Hands Reality and got a response that night! Within a week we had met with Laurent our Realtor and Owner of Heavenly Hands and were seeing locations. He understood our vision. He did his homework, he researched, he asked questions. He had patience and more than anything else Laurent had faith in us.

Within a few months we had found a spot in Lake Park and contacted the city to ask a few questions. We had so much support from the city and eventually settled on our current location. It took us weeks to negotiate a lease. February 1st, 2019 we got our keys.

Within 24 hours we had started on the pallet wall and within 24 days we were sorry that we had. (Have you seen the size of it?!) Renovations were in full swing as we were hoping to open within six months, realistically we knew it would be about nine. Then we hit our first major snag. Now sure, we were used to minor snags as a daily occurrence. Literal blood, sweat and tears went into numerous obstacles every 24 hours. But this was our first big delay, the electric wasn’t what we thought it was. Wires were wrong, connections weren’t there, it was a big job. It was a job we would’ve declined the location for had we known beforehand. Yet there we were renovations are almost complete inspections under way and electric is just about to begin. One month turned into three months turned into six months past our deadline and coming in WAY over budget. Finally electric is nearing completion at the end of February. I start to call around to get final inspections and prepare for our grand opening, while Covid is trickling in on the news channels. It’s now the beginning of March. Covid is shutting down parts of the country, we’re struggling to get inspections done before the City and County jobs where locked down. A little naïve to what the future still held for our craft beer industry at this point. Inspections finally complete and our Grand Opening is scheduled for March 22, 2020.

March 17, 2020 our country goes into lockdown. All “bars” are required to close. The “phases” begin, and we wait. We waited for months. We finally learn that “bars” would not be allowed to open in phase 1. The Craft Beer Community roared! We are above everything else “manufacturers”. With little wiggle room given taprooms we’re allowed to open to sell “TO-GO” ONLY. For us this was particularly hard because no one was aware we were open yet. Still our little local community of Lake Park came out and showered us with support. They tailgated on black asphalt in 90 degree weather. They showed up with mason jars to fill with beer. They offered their manual labor behind the bar.

Still Covid went on and that meant ever changing ordinances for our industry.

In August a local food truck, Krazy Cuban Flavor partnered with us finally allowing us to get our taproom doors open. Let us remind you we were still paying rent this entire time. Things seem to be going well we had a local support, word was getting out, our taproom was filled with new faces but still Covid went on and so did the reality of opening a business during it.

We struggled to keep our heads above water. Loans and credit card bills demanded their payment regardless of the economy. Friends and family have helped us along the way keep this dream a reality, but now we have to ask for your generosity. This taproom has given us amazing memories. Some of my most humbled moments have happened here.

Maybe you’ve let loose at one of our Silent Disco Events, shared a beer with a local band, or perhaps you are our BINGO champ and convince others the game is rigged when you lose. Maybe you’ve enjoyed a bite to eat while your pup sits inside the taproom with you making new friends.

We are so happy to be a part of Lake Park and Palm Beach County and thrilled to be part of this craft beer community that has done nothing more than welcome us with open arms. Supporting each other. Standing by each other. Now if you thought this was a tale with a miraculous ending we haven’t gotten there yet. We have chapters and chapters, series upon series, to go through. We don’t want to put this book down so we have decided to ask for your help. We’ve watched our community grow and support each other. We are not ready to give that up. If you have ever shared a good memory in our taproom and look forward to many more we are asking for help.

During the hardest parts of Covid we were doing our best to pay what we could towards our rent. This proved to be a very difficult task since we weren’t bringing in a revenue for over a year. On top of the months only being allowed to sell beer to go, excited if we broke $100.

Although we did the best we could month after month paying what we could afford we have accumulated back “Covid” rent debt that we fear could close our book. We have been hesitant to do this or but unfortunately with outstanding circumstances the situation is simply out of our control. Covid has affected the craft beer industry, all of us have felt it and we haven’t been able to get off of our feet yet. As we continue to grow and enter into the world of distribution, we will continue to fight this battle wherever it may lead and if you decide to join us in battle we will forever be grateful.