Will County Brewing, Mad Hatchet Urge Support
SHOREWOOD, IL —The city of Joliet has nearly 150,000 people and two microbreweries, both downtown. The village of Shorewood has 17,250 residents and two locally owned microbreweries as well: Will County Brewing Company and Mad Hatchet Brewing.
Regardless of whether or not you patronize these craft beer establishments in Joliet or Shorewood, these are tough times for everyone in Illinois trying to make their livelihood in the bar and restaurant industry because of the new coronavius outbreak.
Moving forward during these times of uncertainty, Shorewood's two microbreweries are relying on the goodwill of Shorewood and Joliet-area residents to help them get through this period.
Will County Brewing Company is owned by Jamie Albert. Will County Brewing just threw a three-day bash earlier this month to mark its two-year anniversary. Will County currently has 6,377 Facebook likes and 6,572 Facebook followers.
Mad Hatchet is owned by Mike and Jamie Stevenson. Next month marks their one-year anniversary in Shorewood. Mad Hatchet has 3,802 Facebook likes and 3,903 Facebook followers.
Both of Shorewood's microbreweries thrive on the fact that their loyal customer base likes to enjoy the ambiance of sharing cheers and conversation with fellow craft beer lovers.
But that can't happen now, per the governor's order.
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Both Will County Brewing Company and Mad Hatchet Brewing can no longer serve patrons on their premises amid the coronavirus crisis across Illinois, the nation and abroad.
Shorewood's microbreweries are trying to remain resilient. Both are changing their hours of operation and daily schedules in hopes of staying profitable.
Will County Brewing Co. is now open daily from 3 to 8 p.m. exclusively for to-go sales only. To encourage more business, Will County Brewing is offering three crowlers for $25. The sale is good for practically all of its microbeers.
"We are still brewing as of this week," owner Jamie Albert told Patch's Editor Thursday.
Albert told Patch there are several advantages of customers who show up to purchase beer products from Will County amid the coronavirus health scare.
"There's not really any long waits for anything," he said. "There's still plenty of product."
People can call ahead with their orders: 815-582-4157. Here are the beers made by Will County Brewing Company that you can buy.
On Thursday night, Joliet Patch's Editor also visited the Mad Hatchet Brewery.
It's behind the Speedway gas station on Route 59 on the west side of the road. Mad Hatchet's address is 913 Brook Forest Ave.
Its phone is 815-733-5380.
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Like Will County Brewing, Mad Hatchet has switched its business model. It's now open seven days a week, from 3 to 7 p.m.
Craft beer lovers can call ahead with their order, and it will be ready in the parking lot for delivery or they can simply pull into the business parking lot and make their beer selections.
The Stevensons assured Patch on Thursday night that their employees are wearing gloves and taking numerous health safeguards during their interactions with customers.
On a positive note, Thursday turned out to be a strong day for Mad Hatchet in terms of beer sales, the Stevensons told Patch.
"We had a lot of sales today and especially before the mandate (that bars can't seat customers) went into effect," Jamie Stevenson said. "We want to make good beer and get it to people."
To entice more customers to purchase Mad Hatchet beer amid the coronavirus crisis, Mad Hatchet is also offering a microbeer discount special: buy three crowlers and get a $15 gift card.
To check out all of the beer products available,visit Mad Hatchet's website here.
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More Joliet Patch restaurant/bar coverage this week:
