I am inviting you to joining me in a community-minded campaign to open Ohio’s first cooperatively owned brewpub in the historic St. Anne's Hill, just east of downtown Dayton... for only $100!
All the details and benefits (#1 being able to bring your friends to your bar!) are in the attached press release (with pictures; the text has been extracted for your benefit). Our effort was featured in last week's Dayton Daily News. Read more below.
Dayton Neighborhood Group to Open Ohio's First Co-op Brewpub You Can Own a Piece of the Pub for only $100 and Help to Revitalize the Area Dayton, Ohio - June 27, 2012 - Dayton neighborhood group, Fifth Street Co-op, is launching a grassroots campaign to open Ohio’s first cooperatively owned brewpub in the historic inner east district of downtown Dayton. The community-minded craft beer lovers are inviting others to join the party and own a piece of the brewpub for only $100!
What are the benefits? Membership is ownership. All co-op members own an equal share of Fifth Street Brewpub and have an opportunity to help Fifth Street Co-op clean up the community and bring a quality pub and restaurant to the area.
A charter membership drive is now in full swing at www.FifthStreet.coop. Those who join before July 31, 2012 will be considered Charter Members and their official Fifth Street Co-op membership card will be stamped with this title. To find out more and meet some of the founders, you can attend one of Fifth Street’s upcoming beer socials. Stop by the brewpub either July 14 from 3pm to 5pm or July 21 from 6pm to 8pm. Here is an artist’s rendering of the Fifth Street Co-op Brewpub located at 1600 East Fifth Street.
"Besides the most obvious benefit of bragging rights of saying, 'I own a brewpub,' there are a number of other great benefits for community-minded and beer-loving area residents," said Brian Young, St. Anne’s Hill resident and co-founder of Fifth Street Co-op.
The benefits to ownership include:
• Cooperatives earn profits that are either reinvested in the business or distributed among
member-owners. Either way, money remains in our community.
• 20-ounce pour for the price of a 16-ounce pour (for at least the first year)
• Special member-owner beer socials
• Official Brewpub Co-op Membership Card (stamped as “Charter Member” if purchasing a
membership by July 31
• The ability to run for the Fifth Street Co-op Board of Directors and make a difference in the
community.
• Option to participate in the guest brewing program
The brewpub will open at the 1600 East Fifth Street location in historic St. Anne’s Hill area of Dayton. The building itself has a unique story, and once was home of the popular Jo-Jo's Cafe, but recently had become run-down and did not convey a positive image of the neighborhood.
Young, who lives in the St. Anne's Hill neighborhood, thought the building could once again be transformed into a respected neighborhood gathering spot. He partnered with Joe Dierkers, a long time Dayton commercial Real Estate Broker who recently purchased a home in the area. Young and Dierkers motivated 30 other neighbors to join in the effort, forming The 1600 Group, LLC, who purchased the building in October, 2010.
The 1600 Group invested nearly $40,000 to rehabilitate the building, and completed most of the exterior work in a few months. Since then they have been working on the interior and looking for a tenant.
As fortune would have it, Young received a phone call from long-time good friend Jeff Thomas, who had recently visited a unique cooperative brewpub, Black Star Co-op, in Austin, Texas while on a business trip. After reading the membership brochure, testing a few brews, and asking several questions, Thomas called to say “This place is great! You just might want to consider a co-op business model for your pub.” Young began to educate himself about the co-op model. The more he read, the more he realized his friend was onto something. “This project began as a community effort,” Young explained. “And a co-op business model is all about community, green-minded operations, and democratic cooperation between like-minded individuals. It's perfect for us and it's perfect for Dayton.”
The Fifth Street Co-op plans to use membership fees and other investment dollars to purchase a brewing system and finalize interior and exterior preparation of the brewpub and restaurant, all overseen by the Fifth Street Co-op Board of Directors. Grand opening is projected for the spring of 2013.
Gift memberships are available, and members from across the country are encouraged to join. Membership Director Maureen Barry says, “We feel this is the perfect gift for a friend that loves beer or a friend that would love to own a brewpub.” It’s easy to give a gift membership via the website. The shopping cart includes a Gift Membership item and Fifth Street will customize the membership card with the name of the lucky friend.
Fifth Street Co-op was formed in June 2012 by community-minded beer lovers Brian Young, Joseph Dierkers, Maureen Barry, Tobin Denney, Eric Zamonski, Bill Daniels, Tony Clark, and Jeff Thomas. The founding members are opening the Fifth Street Brewpub in the St. Anne's Hill district of Dayton to beautify the neighborhood providing jobs and a friendly restaurant and pub. Become a member-owner now or learn more at www.FifthStreet.coop.
The world's first co-op brewpub is Black Star Co-op in Austin, Texas (www.blackstar.coop). At least two others are in the works – Flying Bike Cooperative in Seattle, Washington and High Five Beer Co-op in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Follow Fifth Street Brewpub on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/FifthStreetBrewpub
Follow Fifth Street Brewpub on Twitter - https://twitter.com/fifthstbrewpub
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