Vine Street Brewing Co., founded in 2022 as Missouri’s first-ever Black-owned brewery, recently won a $25,000 grant to support expanding production capacity, constructing a cold storage facility, and staff development.
Honoring Black Cultural Legacy
Co-founder Kemet Coleman was drawn to the beer industry after learning about its origins in ancient African and Egyptian civilizations where women first brewed beer.
Vine Street Brewing’s logo features a Black female beer goddess figure to honor this lineage. The branding challenges the craft beer world’s lack of diversity.
Funding Next-Level Growth
The competitive grant from Kansas City’s G.I.F.T. program, which targets underserved areas, will allow Vine Street to install more fermentation tanks to brew higher volumes of its beer for distribution.
The funds will also finance building a dedicated cold room for storing packaged products at optimal temperatures before shipping to maintain peak freshness.
Investing in Staff and Community
Additionally, Vine Street Brewing plans to utilize grant money to implement formal training programs for employees to foster their professional growth within the company.
The brewery’s expansion supports local jobs while introducing more people to Black-owned craft beer options and educating drinkers on the industry’s roots.
Early Wins Fueling Momentum
Vine Street has already claimed honors like Best New Brewery in Kansas City’s 2023 “Best of KC” Awards.
As the brand continues disrupting the local scene, the grant empowers this pioneering young business to keep surpassing milestones through strategic investments.
