Craft Beer Success Brewing in Mancos
A business spotlight article for an Economic Development organization
One of Mancos’ community gathering places is no longer a local secret. Mancos Brewing Company moved their production and brew pub from a tiny downtown location to a two-acre parcel that is five times larger, and for owner and founder Kathy Hands, will hopefully be an anchor for the community for a long time to come.
“We filled a niche here,” she says, referring to the demand for a casual gathering place for Mancos that isn’t a ‘bar scene.’ “It’s a more comfortable location to hang out and connect with your neighbors,” says Hands. The business doesn’t promote the late-night party scene, typically closing around 9pm.
With eight brews on tap, they have a broad range of beers to please most palettes, and are considered a ‘nano-brewery,’ crafting their brews in two to seven barrel batches.
Hands is bringing together a community to which she’s still relatively new. She and her brewer, DeWayne Jackson, found Mancos in 2014 when both were looking for a change in career and climate.
“My business experience and his desire to brew came together,” says Hands.
The southeastern Utah heat and craft brew regulations were no longer tolerable, so the pair scouted southwestern Colorado and connected with a home brew society based in Montezuma County. Kathy says she fell in love with the ‘vibrant’ small town of Mancos, down to the unpaved roads.
Since opening in 2014, Hands says the business has boomed and that the community is a key player in her success, offering services and time to support the relatively young brewery and pub when the need arises.
When the opportunity to move to a larger location with high visibility arose, Hands was uncertain if the risk was worth the potential. That’s where Region 9 first entered the picture, helping evaluate what it would take financially to get into the new space, and if it was a good move for the business.
Once Hands decided to pursue the location, “Region 9 was the key to making it happen,” she says. She needed capital to remodel as well as amp up the brew production schedule. She’s on a lease to own agreement and hopes you’ll be seeing her facility from the highway for a long time.
“We’re on the cusp of success,” says Hands. “We’re really in the beginning of achieving the goals we have for the move, and now we are focused on bringing the business to a point of sustainability where we can expand our workforce and provide some long-term employment for the community.”
Enjoy Mancos Brewing Company’s food, atmosphere and eight varieties of brew from noon to 9pm, Tuesday through Sunday at 484 E. Frontage Rd in Mancos or find the southwest Colorado retailers that carry their brews at mancosbrewingcompany.com.