With aid, Rogers brewery returns laid-off crew to work

Rogers-based brewery Ozark Beer Company has recalled employees it laid off in late March after the coronavirus outbreak hit Arkansas.

Marty Shutter, marketing director at Ozark Beer, said Wednesday the company’s full staff of 15 mostly full-time workers had returned to work earlier this week. The brewery’s taproom remains closed but the company is still offering drive-thru service at its brewery in downtown Rogers and is still canning its beer for retail sales.

Shutter said funding from the federal Payroll Protection Program helped the brewery cover the costs of the returning workers.

“We’re still brewing,” Shutter said.

At the time of the layoff, the company said it had been hard hit by coronavirus outbreak, noting 75% of its revenue came from its taproom and beer sold to restaurants and bars that had to shut down. Ozark beer laid off its workers while the company’s owners stayed on to keep up with drive-up orders and to can product for retail sales.

Ozark Beer first began production in 2013 in Rogers, moving to its current location which serves as a production facility and taproom in downtown Rogers in 2017. The company is owned by Lacie Bray, Andy Coates and Jefferson Baldwin.

In 2018, the state’s top five craft-beer makers accounted for 27,686 barrels, or 73% of the state’s total beer production, according to documents from the Alcoholic Beverage Control Division of the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration. Little Rock’s Lost Forty Brewery produced the lion’s share with 14,250 barrels, or nearly 40% of the state’s total. Springdale’s Core ranked second with 4,800 barrels and Ozark Beer ranked third with 4,077 barrels.