Well I just had a post about finished and it crashed. I lost everything I just wrote...so a somewhat short post is going to be shorter.
I've fallen behind on the blog posts and hope to begin updating at least weekly once again. The last three weeks has been incredibly busy, time to share what we've done.
We worked day and night for a few days to launch our Dreamfund Campaign. We started this campaign to help raise some funds to make the interior building inhabitable/occupiable. We need these funds to help install I-beams, columns, pour footings, and jack up the floors. We need these things done in the near future in order to install a new roof and new windows, hopefully before the first snow. Our building is going to cost more to rehab and fix than it will appraise for when finished, making this campaign a vital part of the project and meeting our timeline goals. Please check it out and consider picking up some swag. Share the address with others and spear the word...that's half the battle. The address is www.supportmainandmill.com. We need to throw out a big thank you to CMYF (Fran Foster), our designer, for her long hours and amazing work on this campaign. It turned out better looking than we could have ever expected.
We have now brewed three more times over these last three weeks, finalizing our beers for the upcoming Oktoberfest on 10/26 at the Crystal City Elks. The event will be held from 5-10 and costs $35. The entry fee will cover beer from Main & Mill, Urban Chestnut, 4 Hands, Perennial, Alpha, The Civil Life, and O'Fallon Breweries as well as some authentic German food, Gus' Pretzels, and a variety of wines. You can buy tickets at the door without a surcharge and the event will be indoors. We will be serving the Tanglefoot Brewfest's crowd favorite -- Coffee Porter along with Belgian Wit (like Blue Moon), Pumpkin Ale, Brown Ale, Oktoberfest, and possibly a British Pale Ale.
We are within a week of receiving funds from the Economic Development Corporation of Jefferson County. They are providing us a loan for our exterior renovations and that should be completed within a week. This is coming at a great time and we can't thank the EDC more for reaching out to us to further our project and the Main Street rejuvenation.
Speaking of rejuvenation, the Festus City Council recently passed funding to make Main Street into a historical district. We have been working on this for well over a year and they just recently decided to appropriate funding. The Tanglefoot Association has also been pushing this idea over the last few years and with their push along with our talks earlier in the year, the Council found it very appropriate to make a move to further the development of Main Street. Things are changing and the community will reap the benefits. The next year or so will be an exciting time for those around the area.
We've been working hard on a variety of paperwork trying to make sure we're above board on permits, funding, tax abatements, etc. This stuff is tedious and takes a ton of time. The not so visible parts of starting a brewpub aren't visible or known for a reason...boring and time consuming.
Overall, things are moving forward and you should start seeing more activity down at the building in the next 7-14 days. Once that starts, it is likely it won't subside until we open the doors.
Again, please spread the word and check out our campaign page at www.supportmainandmill.com. This isn't easy and we can't do it without the community's help.
