There's a new brewery coming to metro St. Louis. Goodwood Brewing and Spirits says it plans to open its doors at 108 South Main Street in downtown O'Fallon, Missouri, in late January 2024.
Well, Goodwood isn't actually "new." The company has been around for almost 20 years and has six restaurants/taprooms in cities as far-flung as Columbus, Ohio; Indianapolis; and Kentucky cities Lexington, Frankfort, Owensboro and its headquarters in Louisville. But Goodwood isn't a chain like Rock Bottom, RAM or Gordon Biersch; it's as independent and centrally owned as any other craft brewer. In fact, it once distributed its beers in stores here in Missouri.
Goodwood's launch of a satellite location on the west side of the Mississippi River is just the latest example of a model that has been gaining momentum in the craft-beer business in recent years. Instead of growing its name cold via the traditional route of only shipping cans and kegs to retail outlets in other states and hoping drinkers will take note, more and more brewers are taking matters into their own hands. They're instead trying to gain "share of mind" organically by familiarizing locals with their brand and brews straight from their own taps. "Shelf space at the grocery store hasn't increased; it's actually decreased," says Ted Mitzlaff, Goodwood CEO. "Everyone is competing for the same spot. It's become harder as an out-of-state brewery to get a foothold."
Goodwood has learned this lesson through experience. The company started in 2005 when Mitzlaff and four partners bought the production arm of Bluegrass Brewing Company, or BBC, which had been running a chain of Louisville brewpubs since 1993. Mitzlaff and company brewed, bottled and kegged BBC beers for distribution. But after a decade of cultivating a brand they didn't own, the group decided to rebrand as Goodwood in 2015. Soon, Goodwood beer was in stores and bars in 16 states (including Missouri), and its new bourbon was in three.
Then, in 2014, Goodwood started doing some light food service at its Louisville tasting room and noticed that its revenues quickly tripled. "Basically, the lesson was bar grub keeps butts in seats," Mitzlaff says. "It was a big learning experience for us."
Full-service brewpubs followed in Frankfort and a second Louisville location. COVID-19 hit pause on the expansion strategy, but Goodwood's packaging experience and infrastructure ensured its survival by getting beer to drinkers hunkered down at home. And when the shutdowns lifted and thirsty patrons emerged, there were plenty of abandoned restaurants and taprooms that had not been so lucky in cities such as Lexington (a closed Mellow Mushroom), Indianapolis (an old RAM Brewery) and Columbus (a former Gordon Biersch) just waiting for Goodwood to claim them.
At the same time, the company scaled its packaged beer distribution back to only eight states, including pulling out of Missouri. (Meanwhile, it expanded to 16 states with the bourbon.) "With beer distribution, everyone went hyper-local," Mitzlaff says. "Distributors decided they were only going with local craft, certainly nothing from out of state."
So essentially Goodwood decided to become local in the places it wanted to reach.
Yes, the parent company is based in and named after cooperage from Kentucky. The beers on tap, such as the crisp Louisville Lager and the oaky Bourbon Barrel Stout (because, of course, Kentucky), will be familiar to beer geeks who've sojourned to the Derby City and will be brewed in other states, at least for the time being. And granted, there are sister locations serving the same brews and food in other cities. But Mitzlaff says that the St. Louis brewing community and, perhaps more importantly, its civilian neighbors, have been welcoming.
The latter is due in part to the fact that Goodwood is fixing up a downtown O'Fallon institution, the old red-brick mercantile building that dates back to the 1860s and most recently housed McGurk's Irish Pub. In addition to historic surroundings, the location features a spacious patio for al fresco dining, and Goodwood is outfitting the interior with new lighting, a modern audio system and TVs for sports. Upstairs, there will be Airbnb/Vrbo units for beer tourists, with discounts for brew and grub downstairs. And Mitzlaff says the basement is ideal for a two- to five-barrel brewing system that could one day produce small-batch beers exclusive to the O'Fallon market.
But until then, this is a chance to meet (or get reacquainted with) the (not exactly) new beer in town.
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