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brewery and tap room for tasting their distinct and flavorful beers. A delicious and inspiring pub fare menu. A cozy event space. A summer concert series. Even their own distillery. All housed in a rustic barn in Southwick that for many years was home to the popular Chuck’s Steak House. As the craft brewing market began to explode around the country, Westfield River Brewing Company entered the fray in 2012. It was their desire to make their own mark in the growing industry by tapping into the demand for good tasting, quality beers not mass produced using cheaper ingredients. “It was master brewer Sergio Bonavita - a longtime home brewer who attended some workshops at Budweiser to further hone his skills - who came to me and our other partners about opening a full-scale brewery. A lifelong friend of mine and craft beer lover, Sergio has always been an entrepreneur and he was ready not to just dip his toe in home brewing any longer, but to jump in all the way. And we followed him, never expecting the success we would soon realize,” Josh Kelleher said. Similar to many upstart craft brewers around the country who set up shop in abandoned mills and vacant manufacturing spaces, Westfield River Brewing Company opened its doors in an industrial warehouse in Westfield. However, their doors weren’t open to the public, and the location was used to simply brew their libations and market them to restaurants, bars and package stores in Western Massachusetts. Two years later in 2014 when an unexpected opportunity presented itself, Bonavita and Kelleher found themselves touring the former Chuck’s Steak House in Southwick, which had come onto the market for lease. “Once we walked into that quaint old barn and experienced it’s unique charm and beauty, we knew we had to make use of this very cool building as our new home. The move was a good way for us to step outside industry expectations and try something different for our brewery,” Kelleher said. “It was never our intention when we opened in 2012 to do anything more than
Westfield River Brewing Company
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