Prairie Street Brewing
Two brothers bought an abandoned Rockford factory for $320K and turned the worst location in the region into a local monopoly.
An abandoned factory in Rockford, Illinois, sat empty for 11 years. The city had lost 40% of its manufacturing jobs. In 2014, two brothers bought the building for $320,000 and opened a brewery inside it. First-year revenue was $400,000. By year three, it hit $2.8 million. Rockford had cheap real estate, low labor costs, and zero competition for craft beer within 30 miles. A brewery in Chicago would pay 14 times the rent and fight 200 tap rooms for attention. In Rockford, Prairie Street was the only option. Every dollar spent on live music, food trucks, and outdoor seating turned into a reason to drive 40 minutes.
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