By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
River Bluff Brewing is still relatively new to St. Joseph.
"Just over two years ago," co-founder and vice president Edison Derr said, when asked about the brewery's opening.
"Holy smokes."
It didn't take long for the locally owned brewery on Frederick Avenue to become a popular spot. The Chiefs making the Super Bowl in 2020 certainly helped business.
"The Super Bowl last year for us here was a good time," Derr said. "We gave away a jersey...it was a good time."
Then, March came. We all know what happened next. Theatres, hair salons, entertainment venues, bars, restaurants and non-essential businesses had to shutter their doors in the wake of COVID-19.
River Bluff was closed for more than six weeks. And like so many others, their staff did what they could to stay afloat. In the case of River Bluff, this meant filling and hauling growlers out to the parking lot, trying to fill an avalanche of to-go orders.
"We were pretty busy," Derr recalled. "There was three of us, running all around the parking lot trying to take orders. And even though the service wasn't as good as we wanted it to be," he chuckled, "thankfully, everyone appreciated it. And we really appreciated them.
"There were some exhausting nights for sure from us running around. We're cramping, stretching each other's calves out and stuff, just trying to get beer to people."
River Bluff eventually switched to cans for their to-go orders, which helped reduce the stress. And the cramps.
The to-go orders helped, but the pandemic took its toll.
"We stayed...pretty good," Derr said. "Even, I would say, you know? If that. But, our employees, they never...they didn't lose a beat, really."
Everyone kept their jobs, but money was tight. Derr and co-founder Chris Lanman wanted to find a way to keep their business growing, and to keep their employees on the books.
In late summer, they started exploring the idea of a new, second location in Kansas City.
"We just did a lot of brain storming," Derr said. "One of the options was, if we could find a spot that was affordable. You know, if we're going to be stuck forever at 50 percent or less (capacity), maybe opening another place up, if the numbers were right, and using about the same number of workers would be the best way to move forward."
The search for the second location really didn't take all that long.
"The first place we looked at, we loved," Derr said. "We kept looking and every place we looked at, we kept comparing to the first place, so we ended up with the first place."
That first place was the Historic Kansas City Water Department Building at 201 South Main Street in the River Market - a brick structure that first opened in 1904 and was then placed on the National Registrar or Historic Places 90 years later.
Located just south of the Missouri River, and a stone's throw north of the Power and Light District, Derr is confident the experience will be almost identical to the one patrons get in St. Joseph.
"We're hoping to keep the atmosphere very similar," he said. "We hope that we have as much luck with hiring some of the greatest people in the world to help us out."
The new location will bring a mixture of new beer, and also some of the more popular choices in St. Joe.
"We're going to have some of the similar beers," Derr said. "Our staples up here that sell really well and people get mad when we pull off, so we'll take those down there as well."
The exact first day isn't known yet, but management is optimistic for a late spring or early summer opening.
River Bluff is also subleasing a kitchen at the new location, so they will have food options in Kansas City - something not on the menu in St. Joseph.
In the wake of a rough year, and with a mix of old and new in the heart of Kansas City, Derr is hopeful that a second River Bluff brewery will be a sign of better times ahead - both for his business and everybody else.
"We're working hard," Derr said. "Our staff up here is working hard, and we can't wait to see everyone after vaccines and after we get the okay from the CDC and the government and everything to get back to life.
"Let's do it, let's have a good time, man. Life's no fun if you're not able to smile and have a beer, you know?"
You can follow Tommy on Twitter @TommyKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.