Voodoo Brewing Company, Inc.
We have banking relationships, but we were looking for somebody who was more community minded and was passionate about the projects. I was able to be kind of creative and you were easy to work with and communicate with.
People
Your first sip of White Magick of the Sun should be a moment bathed in natural light. And now, if you visit Voodoo Homestead, you can enjoy that ale, or the other craft beers, within the pub’s riotously colorful interior, or in a courtyard beer garden. When first Meadville-based Voodoo Brewing came to Homestead, its neighbor was an abandoned theater. “It was completely condemned,” an eyesore at the heart of a rebounding town, says Jake Voelker, a Voodoo co-owner. Buying it at sheriff’s sale and razing it took time. It would take a little financial magic to possess the site with a spirit to match, say, Voodoo’s Good Vibes IPA.
Progress
Voodoo has relationships in the banking world. But for this loan, the brewers went directly to The Progress Fund, which loaned $150,000. “We were looking for somebody who was more community minded and was passionate about the projects,” Jake says.
Impact
The loan package allowed Voodoo to turn a ruin into a garden, and also to plan for the future by adding elevator footers that will improve access to the pub’s as-yet-unused second and third floors. In the meantime, Voodoo Homestead is inviting community organizations to use the courtyard for meetings and fundraisers, free of charge. Says Jake: “I love the group of passionate entrepreneurs that are really starting to build and grow here in the community.”
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