It’s been a heady year for the Victory Brewing Company, which just celebrated its first anniversary in Kennett Square – as well as its 20th year of operation.
Victory at Magnolia, the 250-seat, upscale brewpub in Kennett Square debuted to enthusiastic crowds last April. Located in Magnolia Place, a residential development at the corner of West Cypress Street and Mill Road, Victory’s industrial chic facility occupies the entire bottom floor - about 8,100 square feet - of a four-story red brick building that is also home to 33 one- and two-bedroom apartments.
To pay tribute to its surroundings and reinforce its commitment to sustainability, the brewpub’s walls were lined with repurposed mushroom board, reclaimed by hand from South Mill Mushroom Farms.
A year later, borough officials are glad that Victory decided to make Kennett Square one of its locations.
“Victory Brewing has been a good neighbor in the borough and they have taken many strides to be inclusive with those that previously chose to make their home here,” said Kennett Square Borough Council President Danilo P. Maffei. “With the rising popularity of craft brewing in Pennsylvania and across the country, their presence has raised awareness of our town and the many wonderful things that our businesses and citizens have to offer.”
Mayor Matt Fetick agreed that Victory has proven to be a positive addition. “They have a fantastic reputation, and there have been no issues whatsoever,” said Fetick. “They are civic-minded and support many great community causes. I'm thankful they chose to invest in Kennett Square!”
During a recent interview, Ron Barchet, who founded Victory in 1996 in Downingtown with his childhood friend, Bill Covaleski, said the Kennett Square location has exceeded their expectations during what he described as “a crazy whirlwind of a year.”
In addition to opening the Kennett Square brewpub, Victory added one in Parkesburg in November. Its third restaurant occupies space in Victory’s second brewing complex and features interactive, self-guided tours of the premises, including bottling and packaging operations.
The expansive Parkesburg complex enabled Victory to add canning to its repertoire, and then to rev up the momentum even further, the company announced a landmark alliance in February with Southern Tier Brewing Company under the parent company, Artisanal Brewing Ventures (ABV).
Under the umbrella of ABV, Victory and Southern Tier operate their breweries independently, Barchet said. Both he and Covaleski serve on the board.
Barchet said the downside of relinquishing some control is more than offset by the collective resources and the ability to brainstorm with so many creative people. The alliance created one of the largest brewers in the Northeast, according to the Brewers Association.
“The way the craft beer industry is going, you either grow, or you go down,” said Barchet, noting that the latter was not an option.
He said he and Covaleski feel a strong commitment to the communities where their facilities are based. “Obviously we’ve been successful here [Kennett Square],” he said. “We’re grateful that people like our beer, but we see that as a two-way street in giving back to the community.”
Mary Hutchins, executive director of Historic Kennett Square, said the company has been involved and generous. In addition to hosting a fundraising block party for Historic Kennett Square on May 22 and the Mushroom Cap Half Marathon on Oct. 15, Victory also donates beer to numerous community events and supports county-wide nonprofits like the Chester County Food Bank.
Hutchins said that although she doesn’t have any hard economic data, once Magnolia Place began construction and Victory committed to opening a brewpub, the economic development activity soared in the borough.
“I think Victory committing to the community was a strong sign of confidence in where the borough was heading,” she said. “In addition, we have seen an increase in foot traffic in the downtown, and even though it is hard to pinpoint why, it has continued to increase after Victory opened.”
And it hasn’t been the kind of traffic that causes headaches for law-enforcement, said Kennett Square Police Chief Edward A. Zunino. “I think the staff at Victory Brewing Company works very hard to maintain a safe and friendly atmosphere,” he said. “We have had no issues whatsoever.”
That’s good news for Barchet. “I haven’t heard of any problems, but if one occurs, we want to fix it,” he said.
Barchet would prefer to continue focusing on flavor, brewing up new crowd favorites. He said last year’s Victory Beer Garden at Longwood Gardens proved popular and resulted in two signature beers, a saison created with Longwood lemons and an autumn ale that featured Longwood honey.
Both of those brews will return this summer, and a couple of new ones will be added, Barchet said.
In the meantime, for those who want to tap into an exclusive brew, Magnolia at Victory is now offering a Kennett-only beer to celebrate its first anniversary.
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