KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The first Black-owned brewery in Missouri opened its doors Friday.
Vine Street Brewing Co. kicked off its grand opening weekend with a ribbon cutting ceremony.
Representatives from Vine Street and city officials, including Mayor Quinton Lucas, attended to ceremony.
The three owners, Kemet Coleman, Elliott Ivory and Woodie Bonds, Jr., have been working on the business since 2020.
“I kept seeing a brewery in my future in 2020, and I don’t know why,” Founder and Co-Owner, Kemet Coleman, said.
The brewery is in the Historic 18th and Vine District toward the south end of the area.
“We’re happy to cut this ribbon,” Ivory said. “I know when you break ribbon this is like the finish, but this is the start for us. This is our marathon. We’re excited to be here and thank ya’ll.”
Vine Street Brewing Co. joins the 1% of Black-owned breweries in the United States.
“I just want to say on behalf of everybody in Kansas City, on behalf of our community and on behalf of this Black kid who grew up in Kansas City, thank y’all for building this opportunity for all of us,” Mayor Quinton Lucas said.
The business is a two-story taproom, brew house and outdoor beer garden.
The owners picked this location for a reason.
“The impact we have on this community that’s the 100% reason,” Bonds Jr. said. “What we wanna do for the community, the city, I mean this is the perfect spot to do this.”