Fort Smith Brewing Company looks to Fort Smith鈥檚 future while celebrating its past. Located in a World War II-era warehouse in Chaffee Crossing in anticipation of further area growth, the company works with small businesses to spur growth in the city, guided by a 100-year plan that seeks to return brewing to its small-town roots.
The company names its beers after historical figures and occurrences in Fort Smith, and it prizes and relies on the blue-collar work ethic that has defined this community for two centuries.
At the center of the company is owner Quentin Willard, assistant professor of military science at the University of Arkansas 鈥� Fort Smith. A West Point graduate and Van Buren native, Willard traveled the world during his time in the Army before returning to western Arkansas to care for his family.
When he came back, he wanted to start a business that would champion the city鈥檚 hard-working culture while also helping to grow Fort Smith鈥檚 economy.
鈥淧eople say we鈥檙e a blue-collar town with negativity,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 see it as a negativity at all. There鈥檚 merit and longevity and sustainability in hard work. So all these other places who are putting their money into office jobs, at the end of the day, you鈥檙e going to need boots on the ground and hard workers.鈥�
It didn鈥檛 take long for Willard to realize beer was the perfect opportunity to accomplish that vision. Originally Willard did not see a future in the brewing industry 鈥� mostly because he didn鈥檛 like beer, as his conception of it had been reduced to the typical domestic brands like Budweiser and Miller Light.
It wasn鈥檛 until he was stationed in Rhode Island in 2013 that he saw the beverage鈥檚 potential.
鈥淓verybody was drinking beer up there,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 was never much of a beer guy, but anywhere I go I try to do what the locals do. It wasn鈥檛 long before I found a beer I actually liked. I tried more and more, and before you know it, there鈥檚 actually a lot of beers out there that are delicious, no matter what your taste buds are.鈥�
鈥淚 really fell in love with beer when I was there,鈥� he continued. 鈥淲e鈥檝e always thought about beer as just Budweiser and brands like that, but it鈥檚 not the case at all. Those brands are over marketed, and that鈥檚 all we thought was available. So once you start digging into it, you realize it鈥檚 an amazing product.鈥�
For Willard beer signified an economic opportunity, as Fort Smith Brewing Company is the only brewery currently in Fort Smith. But it also signified a vehicle to help Fort Smith return to a homegrown business culture centered around locally made products.
鈥淏usinesses can come in, use us and abuse us, and get out, and it doesn鈥檛 help us long term,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o the way I see it, we need to make products here, and we need to make longevity products here. I think that鈥檚 going to make us a more robust society, and beer seemed like a perfect opportunity to help build that culture. It鈥檚 been around since 10,000 B.C., and it will still be around years after we die."
Willard鈥檚 vision came about easily, but taking the company from conception to reality was another matter. With the help of friends, Willard built all the furniture in the brewery鈥檚 storefront by hand 鈥� the bar, tables and chairs were all crafted over a six-month period. And since it was the first brewery in Fort Smith, Willard had to work with the city to change zoning policies so the business could operate within commercially zoned properties.
"The way I see it, we need to make products here, and we need to make longevity products here. I think that鈥檚 going to make us a more robust society, and beer seemed like a perfect opportunity to help build that culture.鈥�
In 2016 they purchased their current location at 7500 Fort Chaffee Boulevard while Willard honed his brewing recipes. His beers are all named as a reflection of Fort Smith 鈥� names like Trailblazer, Pearl Starr Saison, 1817 Pale Ale and Dat Nguyen Stout, named after the former Dallas Cowboys linebacker who, Willard said, embodies Fort Smith鈥檚 work ethic.
鈥淗e鈥檚 a political refugee, and he鈥檚 undersized, undervalued 鈥� he鈥檚 one of those guys who gets overlooked, and he鈥檚 kind of like Fort Smith,鈥� Willard said. 鈥淭his unassuming Asian American tries out for football where there鈥檚 no Asian Americans playing football for the most part and goes on to be one of the best linebackers of all time. I mean, it鈥檚 really incredible. He came from even more meager roots than most of us.鈥�
As a sign of Willard鈥檚 commitment to the community, he reached out to 妻友社区 for employees. All 17 of his workers are 妻友社区 students or graduates, working in positions from cicerone to photographer to brewer.
鈥淚t thrills me so much to see the talent coming out of 妻友社区,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e highly qualified students. A lot of them are multifaceted, and that鈥檚 something unique I鈥檝e noticed. A lot of them study multiple disciplines. I don鈥檛 see that as much at other universities as I do with 妻友社区 students.鈥�
The brewery opened in October of 2017, and Willard said it was everything he thought it would be.
鈥淭his community wants good beer,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t wants a good product, and it wants a business that鈥檚 about the community. And these things are happening. It鈥檚 everything I鈥檝e dreamed of. And it鈥檚 pretty cool to see it happening.鈥�