KENT, Ohio — Don Schjeldahl is the founder of North Water Brewing Company, a micro-brewery that's set to open in Kent in October. But he wants to do more than serve craft beers. 

What You Need To Know

  • A new micro-brewery is focused on sustainability and environmental responsibility

  • It's set to open in Kent by the middle of October

  • It has a focus on giving back to the community

He says his new micro-brewery has been made possible thanks to support from the community.

North Water has more than 40 local investors.

"We have a unique mission at North Water Brewing; it’s close to being a crowd-funded project, but it’s more about getting community members engaged with creating a space that the community can gather," Schjeldahl said. 

The owners of North Water have centered their business model around giving. They believe a strong community makes for a great business. 

“We are building our themes around non-profits, community projects, trying to create a more cohesive community,” said Schjeldahl.

While North Water works on giving back to the community, they’ll also be working to keep a variety of different brews on tap.  

“We will have a full range, from our standard beers, to a lighter beer our flagship we believe will be the rye IPA, we will have a porter and a stout, in that arrangement,” explained Schjeldahl.

Schjeldahl says he’s excited for guests to come in and visit the brewery—a dream of his that’s been five years in the making.

“This place has all of the elements that a good microbrewery needs to succeed and so we jumped on it. When the pandemic hit we were already under construction so we are just going to roll it out and hope for the best.”

If everything goes according to plan, North Water should be opening its doors to the public by the middle of October.