We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Tieraney Craig. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Tieraney below.

Tieraney, appreciate you joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

Quincy Brewing Company celebrated five years this past October, but it’s inception began nearly 20 years ago. My husband, Josh, and I have always been avid adventurers and indulged in craft breweries all over the country. We found ourselves analyzing the beer, the ambiance, the location, the service… all the factors that create the sense of having “it”. Our hometown of Quincy, IL supports many small local towns creating an audience of 100,000 people or more with just one craft brewery at the time approximately 30 minutes away. Our business plan was telling us there was room for more. But even with the numbers, we knew the one essence that would make our brewery have “it” was community. At the time, we recognized a group of business and property owners in a specific area of our downtown banding together to create an identity we wanted to join. And thus… the 6th Street Promenade was born.

We opened a brewery, but in the past five years also have helped drive a downtown revitalization. The business and property owners along 6th Street where we are located have led the charge to renovate the street upgrading infrastructure while creating a pedestrian friendly area with benches, trees, landscaping, a food truck plaza, bike racks and more. By investing in our property, we helped create the leverage needed to receive a state grant and give a voice to what the public desired.

But the goal wasn’t just to create a pretty place; we also wanted to encourage community–to be at the heart of relationships. Along with Fawn Berry Apothecary, we started the Makers Market, a biannual artisan market that features nearly 90 vendors, live music, food trucks, kids activities and more. The event has become one of the larger festivals in the area. Quincy Brewing Company also has smaller monthly events–trivias, bingo, live music, etc… all which encourage people to partake in sharing moments and time together.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

We create a variety of craft beers along with seltzers and non-alcoholic homemade root beer. We strive to offer something for everyone to enjoy. All our beer names offer a glimpse into Quincy’s rich history… from the Villa K IPA named after the Villa Kathrine, a Moroccan castle sitting on the bluff overlooking the Mississippi to the Blueberry Sour ’93 recalling the levee break during Flood of ’93 causing over 9 million dollars worth of damage.

The building housing Quincy Brewing Company was completed in 1886. We have worked hard to preserve some of the original craftwork. We also offer one of a handful of outdoor seating areas in Quincy.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

We opened October 2019 just a mere five months before the COVID shutdown in 2020. We cut every possible expense, but were still looking at thousands per month to keep Quincy Brewing Company in the green. After brainstorming with staff, we devised a plan to creatively sell our product from a window in the front of our building. It worked. Our town showed up. I wholehearted believe the community propped up our business because of the foundation we had built in those few short months we were open. People believed in what we were working towards. They wanted to have our community space back and knew buying our beer was how to make it happen. And here we are… open five years later because of those individuals and every week we’re open I’m grateful we went through that to understand the impact we all have on small businesses!

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

The goal of community in our business doesn’t just apply to our customers, but also our staff. We have quarterly staff “outings”–things as simple as BBQs in our home to more elaborate outings that require transportation away from our Quincy. In order to create relationships, one has to build them and that can only be done through time. Because our team likes one another, they pick up their shifts on a moments notice (making my job easier!) and work to help each other out if they are at Quincy Brewing Company enjoying a beer and not working. The energy we expend working to knit them together gives back exponentially. And even more than that, Josh and I get to know and love each one of them.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.quincybrewingcompany.com
• Instagram: quincybrewingcompany
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/quincybrewingcompany/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@QuincyBrewingCompany

Image Credits

Photos courtesy of Joselyn Rae Photography