Leader Photo by Lee Pulaski Construction workers conduct work Thursday on the future bar and brewing area for Pigeon River Brewing Company inside Northwinds Banquet Hall. The brewing company outgrew its existing space after only three years in business.
Leader Photo by Lee Pulaski Pigeon River Brewing Company will move in 2016 from its location on U.S. Highway 45 to the Northwinds Banquet Hall in Marion.
Just three years into operations, Pigeon River Brewing has outgrown its 4,000 square-foot facility on U.S. Highway 45 in Marion.
Demand has grown for the brewery’s beer and soda, which are served at an on-site brewpub as well as being distributed to bars and restaurants throughout northeastern Wisconsin.
“The addition of the bottling line was the last straw to the facility’s already tight operations,” owner Nathan Knaack said. “We just can’t efficiently keep growing production in our current location. We need to be able to use a forklift in the brewery to move pallets of bottles and kegs to coolers and then to our distributor’s trucks.”
With promises to stay local, the brewery plans to move operations across Highway 45 to Northwinds Banquet Hall, 1103 N. Main St.
“We had been approached by other cities who offered financial assistance to move operations there, but Marion is our home,” Knaack said. “It’s where we started brewing, grew with the support of the community, and it’s where we intend to stay and raise our family.
“When we started realizing the many restraints we had, Northwinds was the first place that came to mind because of the continued support the community has provided with that facility.”
Construction began early this year to convert the small side of the banquet hall to a brewpub complete with brewery, bar and dining area.
“We are very excited to be working together with an up-and-coming heavy hitter in the craft brewing industry,” Northwinds owner Dave Joerres said.
Joerres and Knaack share similar experiences and views. Both come from small towns and own small businesses.
“When talking business together, Nate had expressed the restrictions with his current facility and the growing need of the brewery,” Joerres said. “The situation presented an opportunity for both Northwinds and Pigeon River to join together, remain local, and offer a unique atmosphere and experience for people to gather.”
The new facility is designed to retain the rustic/industrial décor as the existing brewpub. There will be booths for comfortable private dining and possibly an outdoor beer garden.
The benefits of the expansion go beyond the brewery.
“We’re very constrained in our current location as far as parking space and the capacity of the kitchen,” Knaack said. “The kitchen at Northwinds is enormous. It’ll allow us to get food out much faster.”
The brewpub specializes in burgers, homemade pizzas and daily specials, and hopes to expand the menu in the future.
According to the Wisconsin Brewer’s Guild, there are more than 50 small breweries and brewpubs in the state employing more than 1,000 people, and those numbers continue to grow as start-ups come online and existing breweries expand. The Knaacks have been actively involved with the Wisconsin Brewer’s Guild’s efforts to foster a positive brewing environment in Wisconsin.
“Breweries have a lot to offer to their communities in the way of jobs and tourism if communities just take up the opportunity to embrace them,” Knaack said.
Knaack said he hopes to foster relations between Pigeon River and other businesses in the Marion area.
“We’ve done a lot of work with Dupont Cheese, which sells and markets a Scottish Ale beer cheese with our beer and jointly shares a billboard with us,” he said.
Knaack also sees Pigeon River’s presence at the Shawano County Fair as a step in the right direction and hopes to have Pigeon River featured at more community events in the future.
“We are very grateful to all of our patrons who have embraced our business and craft beer,” Knaack said. “We will continue to focus on quality beer, hand-crafted food and friendly customer service.”
Knaack and Joerres see the move as a mutually beneficial way to increase visibility for both the brewery and the banquet hall.
Northwinds is a 15-year-old full-service banquet facility offering weddings, parties, holiday buffets and catering. The brewery addition will not change any of its services or offerings.
“We will provide the same quality of service and experience at Northwinds during the expansion and afterwards,” Joerres said. “2016 looks to be a very solid year with weddings, sportsman banquets and business meeting conferences, which will only enhance the transition of Pigeon River and experience for our customers.”