Tapped Into Tradition: Black-Owned Chicago Brewery Fundraising To Open New Location

The owner of Funkytown Brewery described the move as an effort to become more integrated into Chicago culture and rooted in a community they have served since 2021.

A Chicago Black-owned business called Funkytown Brewery is fundraising to open a new taproom on the West Side. The first-time entrepreneurs have been consistently growing in the craft beer industry, but CEO Rich Broomfield is now hoping to expand beyond just distribution.

An endeavor that took off during Black History Month, the Funkytown Brewery is pushing to finally open a taproom of its own.

Broomfield described the upcoming change as an effort to become more integrated into Chicago culture and rooted in a community they have served since 2021.

Broomfield, also co-founder of Funkytown, told ABC 7 Chicago, “So, we’ve been on the market since October 2021, growing rapidly. We got into the United Center, Soldier Field, Guaranteed Rate, Wrigley Field, Whole Foods, Jewel, Binny’s, and Mariano’s. We expanded to Wisconsin, expanded into northern Indiana.”

As of now, Funkytown operates solely by distributing its crafted beer to bars and grocery stores, but with the recent move to revitalize the West Side of Chicago, Funkytown hopes to open a brick-and-mortar taproom near the United Center.

Broomfield spoke on the decision to go for a location in the Center.

“United Center doesn’t have the most fun let out,” Broomfield stated. “We need those third spaces. Those are where the conversations happen. And like, we’re just here to take our own space, our own niche, and view on hospitality and bring a product that everybody’s familiar with.”

The Funkytown Brewery has been campaigning and fundraising for three months so far, asking for help from both big investors and community-based organizations to hopefully raise $5 million to buy a new West Side building.

Although Broomfield has no shortage of aspirations, the Brewery has faced struggles regarding receiving funding.

The Federal Reserve previously reported that Black business owners are more likely to receive less funding and be denied loans in comparison to their similarly situated white counterparts.

Broomfield recalled, “We’re first-time entrepreneurs. We started this business with $3,500 in our business account.”
“That’s not, it’s not realistic. There’s no rich uncle or aunt that’s going to get it started with $50 or $100K. You just kind of have to bootstrap it yourself,” Broomfield added.

“Think about it, if we actually had some funds behind us this whole time. Funkytown would be a household name.”

The Funkytown Brewery not only wants to expand its business, but it also wants to be a part of a change that makes craft beers available to underserved groups that typically would not have access to the resources or business opportunities.

Broomfield explained, “We want to make sure that we’re accessible by public transit and by the underserved groups that don’t have craft breweries in their neighborhoods. You got to be intentional if you want to reach people, and that’s what we’re going to do, intentional in our outreach.”

Once Funkytown opens its new location, Broomfield plans to hire more staff for the West Side location.