A decade-long vision has come to fruition with the establishment of a new Black-owned brewery in Chicago, IL’s Bronzeville neighborhood.
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According to NBC-5 Chicago, Turner Haus Brewery is set to open on Nov. 30, 2023, and it will co-exist in a shared space with Sip and Savor Coffee Shop.
The shop was created by co-founders Steven Turner and Blair Aikens.
“I’m feeling excited, exhausted, and excited,” Turner told the outlet. “We’re very excited to be an option for people to gather, socialize, and drink in our neighborhood.”
Beyond their enthusiasm, the founders see the new space as a chance to invest back into their community through job creation. Trez Van Pugh III, owner of Sip and Savor, feels the same way.
“It’s going to be a real good thing for the community,” Pugh expressed, per NBC-5. “We’re going to create jobs in the community. It’s going to cause a lot of buzz, which it already has.”
Aikens also shared that each of the beers they craft and sell are named in honor of a family matriarch, who inspires the recipe as well.
Turner told the outlet, “One of the things we have in our slogan is that these are people that poured into us, and now we pour pints of them.”
In addition, the community will feel the impact of the founders’ influence as Black entrepreneurs in a space where their presence is not common. The National Black Brewers Association reports that fewer than 1% of breweries are Black-owned. Despite this statistic, Turner remains optimistic and views it as a chance to enlighten the community.
“I look at it as an opportunity because at that point it’s an opportunity for us to get into this community, educate them on not only who we are, but beer and craft beer in and of itself,” Turner explained, per NBC Chicago.