There’s a new brewery opening this summer, but it’s not going to be a traditional craft brewery experience.
After years in the industry, the team behind it is bucking trends and expectations and doing what it wants with this establishment. This is what you get when you get a group with industry burnout, said Doug Riddle, one of the founders.
Riddle was one of the original brewers at Mother’s Brewing Company. He is also one of the founders of Team Taco, along with his buddy Brent Sonnemaker, who is one of the partners in this new venture.
Before & After Brewing will open at 2940 E. Sunshine St. in late June with one or two of its beers on tap. The team will brew a keg at a time and add more, but aren’t planning a huge release upon opening.
Before & After will also serve other local and regional beers like Mother’s, Civil Life Brewing Company and Ozark Beer Company. There will also be German and American brews, like Miller Highlife in bottles.
‘We want to serve what we like to drink’
Don’t expect any whimsical or clever names. As a brewer, there’s a lot of pressure to name beers and you’re also against trademarks, said Riddle.
“It takes a lot of time and research. We want to get back to the basics,” Riddle said.
In here, a pilsner will be a pilsner. An IPA, an IPA.
The cocktail menu will lean heavily on the classics and there’s a wine list, too.
“I want this to be the kind of place where you can get a $5 glass of rose or a $100 bottle of champagne,” Riddle said. “We want to serve what we like to drink.”
What they really want you to find at Before & After is community and good times. It’s why they are opening it and pouring their passions into it. You’ll also see their faces because they are not hiring employees but staffing it with owners in the beginning.
Expect fresh fare, mostly from scratch
The food will be elevated artisanal sandwiches, salads and shared plates, said Marci Sonnemaker, the third partner and Brent’s wife. Marci met Brent when she was working at MudLounge and he was a customer. They’ve been married 16 years and have a wide variety of restaurant experience — from barbecue to elevated dining.
She plans to have seasonal hummus plates with unexpected ingredients such as beetroot, lentil or fava bean. Expect fresh fare that doesn’t leave you feeling bad.
“We want to do almost everything from scratch,” she said. “We are going to add our own flair.”
Soper adds coffee background to ownership group
The last partner in the bunch is David Soper, who also worked at Mother’s Brewing Company and the Coffee Ethic, so he brings a coffee and brewing background.
Riddle and Soper knew each other growing up in Reeds Spring, but reconnected at Mother’s. They were both home brewers. They were there for the early years when the brewery expanded quickly.
“It was intense keeping up with everything,” said Riddle. “We got to travel and open new markets, which was fun. It was cool to see the development, but it was a lot.”
Back then they talked about opening a small brewery together that didn’t distribute, because distribution adds a huge layer of stress. They wanted a neighborhood joint, a simple spot to share a beer with friends. That opportunity arose last summer when the Sonnemakers closed City Butcher on East Sunshine.
The four friends decided to come together and open a small brewery, coffee shop and restaurant in that space.
“We want to be a neighborhood spot that happens to brew beer and have great food and cocktails,” Riddle said.
Soper has trained the bunch on how to brew a smooth cup of java.
Injecting their own humor and personalities into the project
People get into the restaurant industry because they are passionate and often creative. But they work 12-hour days and get burned out. These business partners want to reignite that passion and if they’re going to work 12-hour days, they want to do it for themselves, said Riddle.
“We are trying to have fun with this business. We are trying to inject our humor and personalities into it,” he said.
Although the décor is still a work in progress, there are hints of that humor, such as a random woman’s portrait that Riddle bought years ago at a flea market. In the dated photo, she is posing with her Pomeranian and Riddle says it struck him, so he bought it. Riddle can make up all kinds of scenarios of what’s going on in this photo.
The east side of town was also a good location because it lacks a brewery and could use more restaurants. They have a lot of friends in that part of town who they hope will support them. Restaurant industry and craft brewery folks are a close bunch and support each other, said Riddle.
This town lost a lot of restaurants during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and people are hungry for something new, Brent Sonnemaker said.
Even though they are opening this business in a completely unconventional way, they are not worried.
“There is a depth of experience that we all have that allows us to have fun at this point,” Brent Sonnemaker said. “We’ve been associated with quite a few endeavors in this town. It’s so low pressure compared to what we’ve done. We know what to do and not to do.”
Before & After Brewing
Find it: 2940 E. Sunshine St.; follow them on Facebook and on Instagram.
Before & After will be open from 3-9 p.m. serving beer, cocktails, coffee and food. The space has seating for 55. They don’t plan to have live music because the acoustics would not work well in that space.
