Brewery to expand in Charlottesville; Rural initiative to create jobs — The buzz – Staunton News Leader

STAUNTON – An Augusta County brewery is adding a second location in Charlottesville this year and a local nonprofit has been selected for a program to create new digital jobs — here’s the buzz. 

Skipping Rock’s second location

Not even a year after opening its Augusta County location, Skipping Rock Beer Company will be calling Charlottesville its second home later this year. 

The brewery will be in the former Hardywood Park Craft Brewery location at 1000 W. Main St. in Charlottesville. Hardywood, which is based out of Richmond, closed its Charlottesville pilot brewery and taproom at the end of December. 

“We were humbled by the response we received to our beer and Staunton taproom in 2019,” said Skipping Rock co-owner Jason McCall. “We have always wanted to open another taproom to engage with more people and be true to our mission of creating memorable experiences for our local communities. Charlottesville provides a great opportunity for us to do just that.”

According to McCall, Skipping Rock launched its beer into the Charlottesville market this past summer and received a positive response.

“We believe our Charlottesville taproom, along with our home in Staunton, will keep us focused on our core purpose and help our local communities share life together around our great beer,” he said. 

They will be hiring a new staff for the Charlottesville location. 

Skipping Rock Beer Company, at 414 Parkersburg Turnpike just west of Staunton, features a 17-barrel system plus a 1-barrel pilot system to allow for experimental and seasonal craft beers. The new brewery opened last March. It’s the 15th brewery on the Beerwerks Trail, which spans from Harrisonburg past Lexington down Interstate 81.

The brewery broke ground in 2018 at the former JMD Farm Market and Garden Center. Renovations were done on a 2,700 square foot building. On the brewery’s two acres, there was a 2,800 square foot building added for production, along with an outdoor beer garden.

The total renovation cost was $2 million.

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McCall said he has six private investors for the brewery and taproom project. McCall and his brother are the two primary owners of the establishment, and they are also using a business loan from the Small Business Association, which is acting as the main financing component.

As for the Charlottesville taproom, McCall said it will have a different vibe than the Staunton location, but they are currently working on ideas. The new taproom will have a three and a half barrel brewhouse along with four three and a half barrel fermentation tanks that will allow for brewing experimental beers and increase seasonal varieties for both locations.

For more information visit Skipping Rock on Facebook or SkippingRockBeer.com.

Rural initiative 

The Staunton Creative Community Fund (SCCF) has been chosen to participate in the 2020 Rural Innovation Initiative. The program is a technical assistance program supporting rural communities. The aim will be to create digital economy jobs with an innovation hub strategy through Rural Innovation Strategies Inc., a release said.

Rural Innovation Strategies Inc. is headquartered in Vermont and helps rural areas prosper in the digital age, according to its website. It uses data-driven strategies, modern geospatial tools and experience in rural economies to develop new modes of rural economic development, its site said.

The Staunton Creative Community Fund and other Rural Innovation Initiative participants will receive a range of support, which includes:

• On-site and video conference time with Rural Innovation Strategies Inc. staff
• Opportunities for collaboration with similarly motivated communities
• Templates and written resources as they execute an innovation hub strategy like:
  • An economic development model that works to educate and train local residents in digital skills
  • Employing participants in new economy jobs
  • Empowering participant to launch the startups that will drive their digital economies

Rural Innovation Strategies Inc. will work with SCCF and other participants to identify and prepare for federal and other funding opportunities that fit their unique attributes and goals, the release said.

”We are thrilled to be working with Rural Innovation Strategies Inc.,” said Debbie Irwin, executive director of SCCF, in a release. “We can’t wait to see what our Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Development Committee and the entire Shenandoah Valley can accomplish with their guidance.”

An agreement between Rural Innovation Strategies Inc. and the U.S. Economic Development Administration makes it possible to have the initiative, a release said. It was launched in 2018 by the Center on Rural Innovation and its sister organization, Rural Innovation Strategies Inc. The initiative also includes Siegel Family Endowment and Walmart as strategic partners.  

“Staunton Creative Community Fund has done an impressive job of partnering with regional organizations to lay the groundwork for a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem in the Shenandoah Valley,” said Matt Dunne, executive director of Rural Innovation Strategies Inc. and founder of the Center on Rural Innovation, in a release. “We were impressed with the powerful regional approach this team is taking and look forward to working with them to continue the momentum through our technical assistance program.”

Participants will have access to technical assistance to refine their economic development strategies, help them identify partnerships and leverage existing resources, the release said.

The Rural Innovation Initiative launched in 2019 with nine participant communities. Within its first year, the initiative sparked $5.3 million in new investment in rural innovation hubs, a release said. More than 110 communities from 37 states and Puerto Rico submitted requests to participate in the technical assistance program this year.

The SCCF is currently located at the Staunton Innovation Hub in downtown Staunton. The fund was founded in 2008 and helps local businesses by serving as the place to go for entrepreneurial innovation. It offers classes, workshops, one-on-one consultations and access to financing.

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You can reach reporter Laura Peters at [email protected]. Follow her @peterslaura.

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