Cities south of Springfield have seen an increased rate of growth over the last few years, with national chains choosing places such as Republic, Nixa and Ozark for expansions.
Springfield Brewing Company looked in a different direction.
The company with 25 years of history operating a brewery in downtown Springfield will expand distillery operations to Willard and Rogersville over the next year. No grand plan or economic forecasting helped make the choice, however — operators simply found two perfect buildings.
“We have been looking for spaces for a little while now,” said Brian Allen, director of brewing operations for the brewery and Ty Iechyd Da, its sister distillery. “Opportunities to create a different experience for our customers, as well as different production sites. Those spaces ticked all the boxes of things we were looking for.”
Rogersville renovation announced
In mid-June, the brewing company announced it would open up 125 Tap and Tasting Room located on Farm Road 125, located between Rogersville and Strafford. The site was formerly the home of Bub’s Distillery.
125 Tap and Tasting Room will pair craft brewing and distilling with wood-fired pizza entrees. Allen said it will offer a great casual experience for fans who enjoy any or all of those things, and the space it offers in a rural setting has exciting potential.
“The location serving Rogersville and Strafford is pretty convenient, and it’s a more rural setting, an out-of-town setting,” Allen said. “There is a big lawn next door, and that gives us opportunities for indoor-outdoor experiences.”
The building, already equipped with some distillery equipment and a wood-fired pizza oven, stood out as they sought an expansion for the distillery, Allen said. 125 Tap and Tasting Room is hoped to open in the fall, pending completion of renovations and permit applications.
It will feature small-batch spirits such as vodka, ryes, bourbons, gins and rums featured by themselves or in standard cocktail options such as an old fashioned or a gin and tonic. A wide selection of the brewery’s beers will also be available.
Willard plans announced in May
In May, the company announced plans to open a similar type of tasting room in leased space in a building owned by Ozark Greenways, located next to the Frisco Highline Trail.
The “mural building,” located at 211 N. Jackson St., marks the Willard Trailhead of that trail. Its previous use was as an equipment shop for the city of Willard.
Once completed, it will offer the same type of indoor-outdoor experience as the Rogersville location, Allen said. From a customer standpoint, Allen said the company is excited for the close proximity of the Frisco Highline Trail to attract outdoor enthusiasts — especially bikers.
“Our beer brands are already geared toward people who ride bikes, run, walk, get out and explore,” Allen said. “Our most decorated beer brand has a mountain bike on it, and we have a close affiliation with biking and running groups in town.”
The news of its opening was exciting, said Jason Knight, president of the Willard Area Chamber of Commerce. He said that the brewery will bring something unique to the city — locally brewed, craft offerings.
“What they offer is a local flavor that isn’t being served by what we have now,” Knight said. “We have some great restaurants and pub-type places, but nothing with locally brewed. Having them come in, we can expand our offerings to different kinds of clientele.”
Knight said an even bigger boon from the venture involves transforming a space into a moneymaker for the city. The building will change from a place to store city equipment to a place that raises sales tax revenue, he said.
It also signals that Willard is a good place for other businesses to set up shop, he said.
“It’s a pretty big thing for Willard to have that kind of investment in the downtown area,” Knight said. “It’s promising. To upgrade from municipal use to community use is huge for downtown, and I think it will bring a lot of improvements.”
The existing building will take a bit more work than the Rogersville location, Allen said. They project an opening sometime next year.
But it is already configured in an advantageous way, he said.
“The building itself is already separated into two areas,” Allen said. “There is a natural kind of warehouse and production area, where we will be able to make beer with different kinds of yeasts and processes we wouldn’t be able to do downtown (in Springfield).”
The other side allows them to incorporate more indoor-outdoor experiences that embrace the trail.
Plans for mural
Allen said that the company is working with building designers to preserve the large mural on the building’s outside, but cautioned that plans have not yet been formalized.
The mural was started in 2018, according to an announcement from Ozark Greenways, and features a depiction of the city’s history. Completed in 2019, it was painted by Farley Lewis and students from Willard High School.
“The mural is really striking. It tells a lot about the town, the history of the trail and things about the community,” Allen said. “We want to maintain the integrity of the mural, but that is an older building, and it will need some things done.”
