Sep 17

Sep 17 Lexington chamber recognizes brewery and founders of new online newspaper

The Lexington Area Chamber of Commerce recently named Goose and the Monkey Brewhouse as the 2021 Small Business of the Year and Antoinette Kerr and Kassaundra Shanette Lockhart, founders of Davidson Local, as Emerging Entrepreneurs.

The awards were presented at an annual ceremony at Bull City Ciderworks held in conjunction with the Thomasville and North Davidson area chambers of commerce and the Davidson-Davie Community College Small Business Center.

Joe Wallace, president of the Lexington chamber, noted chamber members nominated and voted for the award winners.

“Goose and the Monkey Brewhouse was awarded based on what they’ve been through and what they’re accomplished,” he said. “And also what the business has meant for the city and the Depot District.”

Lexington’s first brewery, Goose and the Monkey Brewhouse, located at 401 Railroad St., almost didn’t happen. Owners Brent and Ashlee Moore noted a major fire in December 2017 in a former furniture plant adjacent to their building and subsequent demolition delayed the brewery opening by about a year.

Goose and the Monkey Brewhouse in the Depot District, owned by Brent and Ashlee Moore, was recently named the 2021 Small Business of the Year by the Lexington Area Chamber of Commerce. {Vikki Broughton Hodges/Davidson Local}

“But the fire was kind of a blessing in disguise,” Brent said, reporting they joined the Triad Brewers Alliance in the meantime and had time to learn the ins and outs of the craft brewing business from experienced owners. They were also able to purchase their building for a good price from the city in June 2018 and got in contact with local contractors who could renovate the shell of a building, which started in April 2019.

After they finally opened on Feb. 29, 2020, they had to shut down 16 days later when COVID-19 pandemic restrictions were put in place. But they pivoted to selling their small-batch beers for takeout to get through until they could incrementally reopen to the public.

“We learned to can beer really quickly,” Brent said, admitting that was not part of their original plan. “Our contacts with the Alliance helped a lot as we were all learning how to pivot and adapt.”

Since operating hours for selling beer were limited under pandemic guidelines, the brewery diversified during the lockdown by partnering with Tyler and Madison Prevatte of Perfect Blend Coffee to offer coffee in the taproom in the morning. Additionally, they started their own food truck, Pour Folk Pizza, in March 2020 to offer lunch. Now, a variety of other food trucks are at the brewery on a daily basis for dinner.

Ashlee said the lockdown right after they opened was like a blessing because the staff, all new to the business and to each other, bonded and learned to work together to survive.

“We wanted to be here for our community and we’ve been able to do that,” she shared.

Once they were able to operate at full capacity again in June of this year, the Moores ramped up their taproom activities for customers, such as holding cornhole and pinball tournaments, hosting a book club and a run club and offering live music as well as trivia and game nights. They also hold pop-up shops for local vendors on weekends and have had a few car and motorcycle shows. In the near future, they plan to host some block parties with Bull City Ciderworks, their Depot District neighbors.

Wallace explained Kerr and Lockhart won the Emerging Entrepreneurs Award for successfully launching a new “hyperlocal” all-digital newspaper in early April of this year.

“With the change in the direction of The Dispatch, they saw a niche was available to provide local news and took the opportunity,” he remarked.

Kerr and Lockhart have years of experience in local news, which is where they started their careers. They said their combined experience in journalism, publishing and civic volunteerism gave them the confidence to launch DavidsonLocal.com.

“We saw a need for local news in our community,” Kerr said. “An opportunity presented itself and we took it and ran with it.”