How Ferguson Brewing Company Kept Its Tap Running

A community effort helped the brewery bounce back after an electrical fire.

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After unrest in North County in 2014, both regulars and newcomers stepped up to support Ferguson Brewing Company. “We had our loyal customers,” recalls owner Mike Lonero, “and a lot of new people got behind us from other communities.”

Then, in June 2015, an electrical fire dealt the brewery another blow: The blaze gutted the kitchen, and water and smoke further damaged the 100-year-old building. “The insurance company estimated it would be a year before we opened,” Lonero says. “That wasn’t OK—too many people depend on us.”

In the wake of the fire, the St. Louis Brewers Guild raised more than $11,000, and several breweries held fundraisers for employees. Ferguson Brewing Company reopened four months later. “I put my head down and got to work,” Lonero says. “My dad taught me that.”

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