BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — White Squirrel Brewery is open again after being shutdown by the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.

What You Need To Know

  • White Squirrel Brewery is back in business after the pandemic

  • Co-owners, Sean Stevens and Brian Mefford, tore the original brewery down and rebuilt their new "dream"

  • The pair are opening the brewery in phases and hope to one day have a music venue at the facility

  • You can find White Squirrel Brewery on State Street in Bowling Green

Co-owner Sean Stevens said the shutdown was inevitable because the pandemic was shutting down a lot of businesses.

“We saw it coming from a mile away,” Stevens said. “When you put your heart and soul into something for so many years, it was hard. There were some rough days there.”

However, Stevens’ gut instinct told him that this wasn’t the end of his beloved brewery.

“I loved the old place. It started our roots.,” Stevens said. “I knew there was something to build on.”

Stevens met Brian Mefford, who is now a co-owner of the brewery, and the pair and their passion have brought the brewery back. 

“I was being a baby,” Stevens said. “I was all up in my emotions, and then, meeting Brian was a fresh kick in the butt.” 

The two kicked around ideas for years and eventually made those ideas a reality. According to Mefford, they tore down most of the original brewery except for its walls, and then rebuilt it from the ground up. They are now opening the White Squirrel in phases.

The first phase was the opening of a smaller room with board games. It’s now a special events room. Phase two was the opening of the actual brewery.

The next phase will be an outdoor section. Here people will be able to not only enjoy cold beverages but also local food trucks.

Finally, there will be a phase four—a music venue. The pair hopes to have seating for hundreds and plan to serve customers with their 1970s brewery firetruck.

“This will be unlike anything else in the region,” Mefford said. “We’ll be able to seat hundreds of people. We have a lot of musicians that are excited about it. Combine the vibe of the brewery, and being able to bring in hundreds of people, you can do a lot with that.”

Opening a brewery, getting hit by a pandemic and reopening has been a tough project. But Stevens said that the work has been “exhaustingly beautiful.” 

Now that the puzzle pieces are being put back together, the two can finally make their dreams a reality.

“This is exactly how I envisioned the brewery to look like since day one,” Stevens said. “I envisioned an open house brewery, serving drinks, kids running round, dogs running around, playing board games, listening to music, and being Bowling Green’s living room.”

White Squirrel Brewery is on State Street in Bowling Green.

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