Source : Mankatofreepress.com
There has long been a thriving retail and entertainment corridor in downtown St. Peter, but there was one thing missing that most mid-size and many smaller communities have — a brewery.
That’s changing as three partners are bringing Paddlefish Brewing Co. to the Nicollet Plaza building at 108 South Minnesota Ave.
Eric Johnson, who spearheaded the idea, said they hope to add to the downtown vitality.
“We’re committed to doing our part to bring the next group of entrepreneurs to the area. We’re really committed to community building and holding events and developing the community as much as we can.”
A senior at Gustavus Adolphus College, Johnson recruited friend Luke Dragseth to be the brew master. They then reached out to Dave Long, a brewery fanatic who has business management experience and also had a dream of being an owner of a brewery.
“I knew Luke was very much into brewing. He really understands the process. Dave is the business guy and understands the brewery business, so I think we all complement each other well,” Johnson said.
Johnson is originally from Paynesville and Dragseth was raised in Milwaukee, meeting Johnson while at Gustavus. Long is from the Twin Cities area.
Dragseth said growing up in Milwaukee, he knew family and family friends who brew beer at home and commercially.
“I grew up around it in Milwaukee and started brewing at home,” Dragseth said. “Then I started creating my own recipes and refining them.”
Long also has a long history of interest in breweries and brewing.
“Dave has been to 145 breweries in Minnesota alone and in the mid-200s nationwide,” Johnson said. “He knows his breweries and the business and what works.
“There’s a strong group in Minnesota that are just brewery junkies. Dave also had a dream of owning a brewery, so he jumped at this when he saw the plan,” Johnson said.
The building they are going into near the corner of Minnesota Avenue (Highway 169) and Broadway houses a few businesses, including the Great Wall restaurant. The building will be completely renovated outside as well as the interior space where the brewery will be.
“We were excited about it because we can have outdoor seating and we’ll have all the traffic on (Highway) 169. We’ll remodel the inside and exterior to get the feeling we are looking for,” Johnson said.
The building also has a large parking lot, part of which will be used for the outdoor area. “Parking is at a premium in St. Peter so it will be nice to have parking for customers,” Johnson said.
They will not serve food, but like many breweries will encourage people to order in from other local restaurants.
“We’re really hoping to work with other businesses in town,” Johnson said.
As for the name, Johnson said it was inspired by an article he read in The Free Press last December, with the headline “Paddlefish prefer St. Peter as a hangout,” which told of a sizable population of the unique fish in the Minnesota River around St. Peter.
“It was a fascinating story, and when I did more research, I discovered there is this growing population of paddlefish here.”
The St. Peter City Council last month approved a $25,000 loan from the Revolving Loan Fund to the startup. Council members noted they were impressed with the business plan and financing already secured for the brewery, which needs about $185,000 in start-up money.
