To the Editor, Hoptown Chronicle,
My first experience with the Pennyrile Rail Trail Foundation was on the side of South Main Street in 2006. Then a new mom, I packed my infant son into his stroller every afternoon and walked the 2 or so miles from my home on Latham Avenue to the playground downtown next to the main fire station. One afternoon, a car slowed down as it passed us, then pulled over. A man got out of the vehicle and approached me. Having lived in larger cities where this sort of event never ends well, I slowed and scanned the passing traffic for witnesses who might hear me scream for help.
“Hey,” he said, smiling. “I always see you walking. Have you heard about the Turkey Trot coming up? We’re raising money for the Pennyrile Rail Trail.”
And so began my love of what was then just the dream of a group of dedicated citizens. I attended city council meetings, signed petitions and attended whatever events were scheduled to draw attention to the effort. At that time, we were a military family; we moved to Fort Rucker, Alabama, in 2011 and later to Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia. Even after we left Hopkinsville, I made it a point to come back each Thanksgiving for the Turkey Trot.
In 2014, my then-husband and I started considering the idea of opening a small brewery. He was nearing retirement and we knew that our next move — hopefully to Fort Campbell — would more than likely be our last. Opening a brewery in the area didn’t seem like a terrible idea; after all, the market was wide open. At that time, Clarksville had one brewery and there were none on the Kentucky side of the state line for at least an hour in any direction. Our research into starting a small business showed that figuring out our target audience would be imperative to our business’ survival (and hopefully success). A quick Google search of “craft beer market demographics” results in a graphic entitled, “Who Is the Craft Beer Drinker?” The graphic depicts the industry breakdown by gender, age, et cetera. The majority of the population of Fort Campbell met most of the criteria so if that was our target market, it made sense to locate a brewery in Clarksville, as more active-duty soldiers and their families choose to live there.
But there was a statement on the graphic that caught our eye: the average craft beer consumer “enjoys biking and jogging alone.”
It seems silly to say now, but that statement solidified our decision to locate the brewery in Hopkinsville. After all, by the time we moved back to the area in 2015, the first phase of the Pennyrile Rail Trail was open. It connected Pardue Lane to North Drive and downtown to the Hopkinsville-Christian County Public Library. In discussions with then-Mayor Carter Hendricks about where in Hopkinsville to open a small business, he mentioned his vision of one day extending the trail as far as the bypass. When I questioned how pedestrians would navigate the intersection of LaFayette Road at Country Club Lane, he described a long bridge that would span the intersection.
At the time, such a bridge seemed fantastical, something that would never happen in Hopkinsville.
But then, that was the reaction I received more than once when I talked about opening a brewery in this town.
We chose a small building at the corner of East 5th and South Main streets in downtown Hopkinsville for our little brewery. We spent nine months on renovations before we opened almost four years ago in September 2016. When it came time for us to grow, it would have been easier to move out of downtown and build a new facility on the bypass. We chose to stay and expand downtown, in part because of the Pennyrile Rail Trail: our customers walk or bike to us via the trail. The Hopkinsville Running Club meets at the brewery each Wednesday night and conducts their group runs on the trail. Our proximity to the trail has added value to our business.
While I can speak all day as to how the existing trail has encouraged the health and happiness of local residents, I do understand the desire by some to see a monetary return on the financial investments made by the city of Hopkinsville and Christian County. It would not be an exaggeration to say we chose to locate Hopkinsville Brewing Company and its expansion in downtown Hopkinsville because of the Pennyrile Rail Trail (known now as the Hopkinsville Greenway) and that it has helped fuel our business immeasurably.
Using tax and licensing revenue as a metric, we currently employ and pay payroll tax and withholding for 13 people to city government. We hold six business and alcohol licenses with the city and county that we renew annually. We pay property taxes on our business location to both the city and county, as well as tangible property taxes on our equipment. The contractor we hired for both our original renovations and our expansion, our cleaning company, pest control service, accountant and bookkeeper, leading to more money that stays within the community. The T-shirts we sell, the stickers we give away, the fruit we use in our beers are all procured locally. Finally, we donate 1% of our gross sales each month to local nonprofits.
I have no illusions that we are making the city or county’s budget or that we’re solely responsible for keeping other small businesses or nonprofits afloat. But I do believe, especially in the time of COVID, that every little bit helps. The rail-trail and now the bridge being built across a main artery in Hopkinsville represent an investment the community is making in itself and, in turn, helps my small business continue investing in the community.
Kate Russell, co-owner, Hopkinsville Brewing Co.
Kate Russell is the founder and co-owner of Hopkinsville Brewing Co. A U.S. Army veteran, she earned a graduate certificate in brewing science and operations at Auburn University.
