Dear Stone Brewing Co.,
Greetings from the Midwest. I feel like I already know you, and we haven’t even met.
I hear you’re considering a new place. Congratulations! The aftermath of your announcement sure has generated a lot of talk about cities. Cities under consideration. Cities cut from the list. Cities still in the running. But I think people have got it all wrong. This isn’t about a new zip code. It’s about finding your place. A place to plant your dream and grow your vision.
Someone once told me that whenever you sell a house, you should leave a letter behind for the family that follows. It makes the difference between moving into an empty shell and beginning a new chapter in a home. If it works for houses, maybe it works for business?
Here goes.
First, a confession. I’m extremely partial to Columbus, but I wasn’t always. I moved here out of necessity after college. In those first months, my world was very small. I avoided certain parts of town. Took the same roads to and fro. Shopped at the same places and went to the same restaurants. I complained about traffic and way too much football.
Over time, I warmed to the city. I ventured out and began to discover what I had been missing all along. Soon, I was in love, yelling O-H at strangers on the sidewalk, reveling in the downtown hum, enamored by the tenacity, ingenuity and spirit of the people who call this place home.
So, here is what I can tell you for certain. We’ve got a rare kind of magic in this town. You'll find it sprinkled everywhere, from our Shoe to our suburbs. We are a city where people turn potato salad into positivity and tell stories by the scoop. We’ve got pride in our place and pride in our people. Whenever and wherever you conjure up the spirit of Sloopy or Caroline, someone (clad in red) will be there to get your back. Of that, you can rest assured. We’re helpers and dreamers and world-changers. We’re a city that cheers for science nerds, band geeks and artists. We're weird. We're happy. We're scrappy and smart. We like big boats and we cannot lie. We’re too many things for one infographic or a single list.
Columbus isn’t obvious; it’s understated and often underestimated. We’re a place people never see coming, which gives us the chance to constantly surprise the world. When they label us “flyover territory” and “cornfield country,” we laugh. Because, yeah, we’ve got your cornfield right here.
Columbus has a way of winning people over. And when it does, you just get it. From the nuts around our necks to the O-H-I-O above our heads, we’re a team here – and we’re all in. We cheer for the underdog. We champion for the success of strangers. We do whatever we can for whomever we can whenever we can. When one of us wins, we all win. We’re a place for everyone. And everyone has a place here.
I won’t pretend to understand the intricacies involved with brewing. (I'm a wine girl, still searching for her soulmate beer.) I don’t know how you make hops hop or how grain goes from barley to bar, but I do know business.
It’s true that brands aren’t built on passion and passion alone, but I'd venture to say you won’t find a single successful company that got where they are without a tribe of passionate people rallying behind their dream, their vision and their spark. You can make things happen anywhere, but if you want more, go with the optimists and visionaries, creatives and believers. Go where people never hesitate to roll up their sleeves and link arms. Go where people aren't afraid to stand up and stand for something. Go home.
Home isn't a zip code. It's where you find your people. Here we are. We’re saving you a home in our city – and in our hearts.
Come home soon.