Peace Tree Brewing plans to open a branch in downtown Grinnell at 923 Main Street.

Delphina Baumann, owner of the property just north of the Strand Theatre bought it last spring with the intent to enhance downtown vitality by developing one of the empty storefronts on Main Street. She envisioned a retail space for local and global artisans as well as residential apartments above in what was a dilapidated two story building that has been vacant for more than 2 years. Her plans for the lower level changed in late winter after participating in a community wide study and learning that area residents listed a brewery as one of the top 3 new downtown businesses that they would support. She decided to reach out to breweries in Iowa to see if she could entice them to take a look at Grinnell.

Baumann connected with Megan McKay, owner of Peace Tree Brewing who had just opened a branch of Peace Tree in Des Moines’ East Village and is excited to announce that renovation is underway for a taproom in Grinnell.

McKay said, “I was not actively looking for another location but could totally relate to what Baumann is trying to accomplish in Grinnell. Our current facilities were in one of those run-down, ignored, forgotten places and her vision for community was similar to mine. It did not take too long for me to say yes to her offer plus the building lends itself well for a taproom. The Main Street location is perfect since it’s next to the theatre and many great restaurants, not to mention we hope to pull travelers off of Interstate 80. We hope to encourage our patrons to bring in food from local eateries and have this be a fun gathering space.”

Peace Tree will install a pilot brew system for experimental and educational brewing with most of the supply coming from their large production brewery in Knoxville and their new facility in Des Moines.

Baumann is excited to bring the award-winning brewery to Grinnell and to be working with another female entrepreneur in community development. The seven-year-old brewery has won several accolades, including a World Beer Cup gold medal for Blonde Fatal, its Belgian style strong ale. She and McKay are in the process of meeting with local restauranteurs and community leaders to share their plans for 923 Main Peace Tree Grinnell Branch and look forward to a grand opening in early fall.