Pike Brewing Company expands ownership to key employees
and prepares to expand brewery.
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| Courtesy of Pike Brewing Co |
Seattle, WA – October 16, 2015:
A letter from Charles and Rose Ann Finkel, Founders and Owners of The Pike Brewing Company:
Today,
on the eve of our 26th anniversary, we’re excited to announce that
we’re ensuring that Pike Brewing remains an independent and local
company by expanding ownership
to three key employees plus expanding our footprint right here in
Seattle.
We
are proud to announce that we’ve expanded ownership of The Pike Brewing
Company to include three key and long term employees. Each individual
has helped us build the company. They are Drew Gillespie, Vice President
Operations; Patti Baker, Vice President Controller;
and Gary Marx, Executive Chef. Collectively they have been at Pike for
45 years and we have long considered them as family in this family
owned brewery. Each one has taken on key projects and responsibilities,
showing the same commitment to Pike as we do.
By formalizing them as owners alongside us we are ensuring that Pike
Brewing remains independent and continues to grow organically.
Speaking
of organic growth, we are also happy to announce that we are expanding
our footprint and brewing capacity by moving up. We will occupy
an additional 5,500 square feet
space directly above The Pike Pub on the
atrium level with direct access from First Avenue and The Pike Place
Market Atrium. The entire space will be remodeled in the Pike style with
antique breweriana, an extension of Pike’s
Micro Brewery Museum.
If
we could update Germany’s Reinheitsgebot, beer purity law, for these
times we’d add independence as a fifth ingredient, right alongside malt,
water, hops and yeast.
At Pike Brewing, our management team
decides what to brew based on quality, taste and sustainability, not
dictated from outside sources! When we founded the brewery in 1989 we
dared to dream that our creativity and investment
would establish a brewing company that would endure in perpetuity. Our
role models were the storied European breweries that we represented as
sole U.S. agents. Now, 26 years later, that dream has taken another step
towards becoming a reality.
When
we began our craft beer journey in 1978, the whole of America had only
two craft breweries. Currently there are almost 4,000! No matter the
landscape,
in almost 40 years in beer, we have never been so excited about our
company’s momentum and growth potential. We love our work at Pike
Brewing, our new partners: Drew, Patti and Gary; and our team of
dedicated brewers, bottlers, warehouse people, sales and
marketing professionals, cooks, managers, servers and
front-of-the-house staff! We are ecstatic about spending the remainder
of our careers as a part of this team.
Cheers,
Charles and Rose Ann Finkel
More about Pike Brewing Company’s ownership and building expansion
The
Pike Brewing Company was founded in 1989 by craft beer and wine
pioneers, Charles and Rose Ann Finkel. Starting with a four barrel
copper gravity
flow brew house, demand exceeded supply from the very beginning and the
brewery moved to its current home in 1996, adding The Pike Pub. In 1997
their larger beer importing company, including the burgeoning brewery,
was sold and the Finkels took a sabbatical.
Missing their little baby, Charles and Rose Ann re-acquired Pike
Brewing in 2006.
Now,
26 years after its founding, Pike Brewing continues to handcraft its
beers under the tutelage of Charles and Rose Ann. As hundreds of new
brewers
have entered the scene and the largest brewers are either offering
their own “crafty beers” or buying up independent brewers, Pike Brewing
Company is formalizing its commitment to stay independent and local by
expanding ownership to include three key employees.
In
addition to the Finkel Family, the new owners are Drew Gillespie, Vice
President Operations; Patti Baker, Vice President Controller; and Gary
Marx,
Executive Chef. Drew, who has deep roots in Washington’s Okanagan
valley, began as a line-cook in The Pike Pub’s kitchen in 1998 and has
held more positions than anyone else at Pike. These include bartender,
general manager and currently vice president operations.
Patti, born in Oak Park, IL and raised in Stanwood, WA was hired in
2006 as a bookkeeper and office manager. It soon became clear that she
had the organizational and financial skills to lead all of Pike
Brewing’s finances and human resources. She was promoted
to Vice President Controller in January 2015. Chef Gary Marx, from
Auburn, WA has been at the helm of The Pike Pub’s kitchen since shortly
after it opened in 1996. He has built a culture in Pike’s kitchen that
seeks out local and sustainable ingredients for
its menu. Under his leadership The Pike Pub has been consistently
recognized as a prime dining spot for locals and visitors alike.
Moving up, Pike Brewing will occupy
an additional 5,500 square feet
space directly above The Pike Pub with a dedicated entrance on First Avenue and direct access from The Pike Place Market.
Construction on the expanded space will begin in late 2015 with
an estimated completion in the spring of 2016. Current plans for the
space include six additional 60 barrel fermenters, a new bright tank and
an exciting restaurant concept.
This expansion will allow the brewery to
meet the primary goal of supplying an ever-increasing demand from
customers in the Pacific Northwest at the same time allowing Pike’s
talented brewers to introduce more new beers of different
styles.
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| Courtsey of Pike Brewing Co |
About Pike Brewing Company:
The Pike Brewing handcrafts beers
of character in our gravity flow, steam powered brewery in Seattle’s
historic Pike Place Market neighborhood. Our year-round offerings
include Pike Pale Ale, Pike IPA, Naughty Nellie Golden,
Space Needle Golden IPA, Kilt Lifter Scotch Ale, Monk’s Uncle Tripel,
and XXXXX Extra Stout. Seasonal and limited release offerings include
Harlot’s Harvest Pumpkin Ale, Old Bawdy Barley Wine, Auld Acquaintance
Holiday Ale, Derby Lager, Saison Houblon, Octopus
Ink Black IPA and more. Pike made history in June of 2015 when Pike
Locale, Skagit Valley Alba, the first varietal beer was introduced. Pike
Locale is a collaboration of Washington State University Bread Lab,
local farmers, Skagit Valley Malting Co. and Pike.
The Pike Pub is known for delicious local, sustainable and seasonal pub
fare paired with Pike and other local, craft drinks. Pike’s
world-famous Micro-Brewery Museum illustrates 9,000 years of beer
history. Pike Brewing’s annual festivals include Pike Chocofest,
benefiting Puget Sound Keepers; Women in Beer, benefiting Planned
Parenthood; and Piketoberfest, benefiting The Pike Place Market
Foundation. In addition, it is the company’s mission to contribute to
local charities throughout the year. The Pike Brewing Company
is family and independently owned.
