Local brewing company owners saluted

Sometimes, businesses reach a crossroads where they must decide on a path to follow into the future. And choosing which road to take can be a difficult decision for an owner, who often is faced with options such as permanently closing a business.

In fact, this possibility became a reality recently for Euclid Brewing Co. In our opinion, it’s worth taking a closer look at how the owners dealt with a major setback and the significance of the choice they made.

Euclid Brewing Co. recently closed its doors for good, a decision stemming from a May 19 grease fire in an apartment above the business’s storefront at 21950 Lake Shore Blvd.

“We worked for three months to try and find a suitable new neighborhood location for the brewery. We looked at several buildings (on Lake Shore Boulevard) and thought we had identified an ideal location, but the obstacles to opening in the new space turned out to be insurmountable for us,” owners and operators Doug and Kim Fry said in a post on the brewery’s Facebook page.

It’s sad to see Euclid Brewing Co. — an enterprise that the Frys described as their “glorious experiment” — meet its demise because of an unexpected event such as a fire, which didn’t even start inside their business, and the severe smoke and water damage created by the blaze.

What we admire about Doug and Kim Fry is the entrepreneurial spirit that they showed in launching Euclid Brewing Co. on April 30, 2016. Doug was a home brewer who worked full time as a chemist before he and Kim decided to create a gathering place for community members to enjoy their favorite beers.

Doug and Kim also impressed us as being modest people who wanted to operate a business with a local emphasis.

“We don’t have aspirations to be anything other than a neighborhood brewery,” said Doug, who was a full-time chemist before opening Euclid Brewing, in a News-Herald feature story published in May.

“We want to serve the community rather than try to be a big regional or even national brewery.”

Give credit to the Frys for accomplishing their mission of positioning Euclid Brewing Co. as a community gathering place.

Bike clubs and other community interest groups often held meetings at the brewery.

Euclid Brewing Co. also sponsored general interest seminars known as Tap Talks. Topics included wind energy and the industrial history of Cleveland.

“It’s conducive to local conversations, and not just about what happened at the Grammys,” Euclid Community Development Manager Brian Iorio said in the aforementioned News-Herald article.

Although the Frys encountered hurdles that were too high to clear in opening Euclid Brewing Co. at a new address, following the fire-related damage at their original site, they still took with them the satisfaction of serving many satisfied customers.

“We never realized how many smart, talented and funny people live in Euclid and Northeast Ohio until they walked into the EBC tap room and became our friends,” they said.

Many of those friends and customers expressed their gratitude to the Frys and feelings about Euclid Brewing Co. in reaction to the couple’s closing announcement on Facebook. A few examples included:

• “Thank you so much for the time you put in to making Euclid a more neighborly and fun city!” — Karen Richard Novak.

• “Best of luck and thank you for your contributions in making Euclid an entertainment option. I enjoyed your establishment, the enthusiasm and camaraderie” — Jeffrey E. Romito.

• “So sorry to hear this! We loved our visits to EBC and the fun and interesting conversations had and people met over great beer!” — Leila Jackson.

Perhaps one thing that might alleviate some of the sadness for Euclid Brewing Co. patrons is that the Frys aren’t exiting the beer business altogether.

“We’ll resume brewing beer at home once we get our equipment out of storage, and we may reprise some of EBC’s best beers,” they stated. “And maybe we’ll come up with some new recipes to use at Euclid Brewing Company 2.0, should it ever come to pass.”

Whatever the future holds for Doug and Kim Fry, they can look back with satisfaction at how they bolstered Euclid’s economy, if only for a little more than a year, and produced a high quality, locally made product that they served in a comfortable and inviting atmosphere.

We commend them for a job well done.