Rockford Brewing Company, an up- and- coming craft brewery in Rockford, Illinois, is re- branding itself and launching a new logo under the new name, Prairie Street Brewing, in order to avoid confusion with another brewery and to create an identity all its own.
It started innocently enough in 2013 when Dustin Koch, Reed Sjostrom, and Chris Manuel opened a new brewery under the name Rockford Brewing., borrowing from an historic brewery that used the same name back in the early days of the twentieth century. Little did they know that another Rockford Brewing Company already existed. It was in Michigan, not Illinois, but the name was the same regardless.
The owners of both breweries met and decided it was fine if both entities used the same name. After all, they were in different states and both were small operations, so there shouldn’t be any issues. A cease and desist letter and other obstacles got in the way briefly, but everyone agreed that the shared name would be okay. However, Illinois Rockford Brewing co- owner Dustin Koch felt he and his partners business needed its own brand and identity. They were known as the Rockford Brewing Company but the building was often referred to under a different name, Prairie Street Brewhouse.
“We actually had two names and that was confusing people, including us,” said Koch. “Rockford Brewing Company stood for brewing craft beer and Prairie Street Brewhouse stood for everything else that went on in the building, from meetings and weddings to leasing offices and loft apartments. We knew we had to take a long look at our brand and get better and more efficient.”
Co- owner Reed Sjostrom concurred with Koch’s sentiments.
“We still knew we had to streamline our brand,” said Sjostrom. “And we needed to be better prepared for moves we want to make in the future. Even after the quarrel with the Michigan boys, we were still confusing our own customers and we needed to pave the way for a strategically strong future. We wanted to create an original brand, something uniquely ours and distinctive to this Rockford generation – but still rooted in our building’s history. It was definitely time to make another change.”
The business has now been renamed Prairie Street Brewing Company. To honor John Peacock, the British immigrant who started brewing beer in the historic building Prairie Street Brewing now calls home, the new company logo will feature an image of a peacock along with three feathers to represent these three entrepreneurs who opened Rockford Brewing in 2013.
Prairie Street Brewing Company is soft-launching its new brand-identity and promoting itself with a new website, signage, and merchandise. The craft brewery also plans to open a new restaurant at the nearby UW Health Sports Factory in Downtown Rockford. The restaurant will be beer- centric and may include other surprises.
Rockford Brewing Company was relatively short lived, but the beer and legacy live on under the new name, Prairie Street Brewing Company. To keep up with happenings via social media, be sure to follow Prairie Street Brewing on Facebook and Twitter.
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