Today we’d like to introduce you to Tristan Cooley.
Hi Tristan, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
We opened in December 2019 by buying an existing brewery. The timing wasn’t great as we were shutdown a mere 3 months later due to the pandemic. Multiple shutdowns and changing attitudes about eating out have proven to be huge hurdles for us from the beginning. We pivoted our business model several times trying to find a way to pay the bills and keep the lights on. We have survived through it and now show signs of beginning to thrive. We make nearly everything we serve in house. Obviously the beer is small batch, true craft beer all made here. Our kitchen is an all-scratch kitchen. We make just about every kind of beer imaginable from hoppy IPAs to coffee Porters and fruited sour ales. We serve our own line of house-made sodas as well. What we can’t make ourselves we source from local providers including Oregon wines, ciders and kombuchas.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has been the opposite of a smooth road. Opening right before Covid was the biggest hurdle, of course. Since we had no prior history to show a loss in revenue, we didn’t qualify for any of the government programs to help ease the blow. We aren’t in a high traffic area so we have to hustle to get noticed. We also had multiple huge construction projects blocking our streets and snarling up our parking situation for several years. Things have calmed down recently, though, and we are starting to see a turnaround now that folks know who and where we are.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We produce house made beer, sodas, sparkling waters and other beverages along with a scratch kitchen that serves great food. Our selections are always changing and food specials abound. We offer live music most nights and it is always free and all-ages are welcome. Thursday night is our very popular trivia night and Mondays is Bingo, but other than that it is music all the time! Our pub is cozy and rustic and our outside seating is plentiful as well!
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
I grew up on a small sheep ranch in southern Oregon. Every year we would need to cut, dry and bail the hay and alfalfa we had grown to feed the animals through the winter.. We would need a lot of help to get it all put away before any rain fell so we would invite everyone we knew to come out to the property and work the morning away getting the bails put in the barn. Then we would throw a huge party for everyone and their families. It was a hundred people or more and seemed to get bigger every year. We would roast a lamb and a pig. There would be a big softball game and usually volleyball as well. It was a great way to say goodbye to summer. The parties would usually last most of the night with folks playing live music and poker games into the morning hours. The community feelings created during those gatherings and others was incredibly nourishing and I’ll carry those memories fondly forever.
Pricing:
- Beer/Ciders are $6-7 per pint
- Food is $8-18
- Wines are $9 a glass
- T-shirts/hats around $30
- Private room rental $150/hour
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.gratitudebrewing.com
- Instagram: @gratitudebeer
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gratitudebeer/
