The wait is finally over. You guys, we’ve finally set a date for our official Grand Opening! Black Friday, November 23rd is the day. We’ve chosen this date for a number of reasons.

It’s Thanksgiving weekend and, above and beyond anything else about this incredible journey, we are THANKFUL. We realize that not everyone gets the chance to take this giant crazy leap to pursue their dreams, and we’re grateful to all the amazing people behind this Trek. It has been a LONG road, our soft open has been going on for a lot longer than we could have ever anticipated.  We’ve hit many setbacks and switchbacks along the way, but the journey has been incredible because of all of you.

We’re going to celebrate reaching this milestone with a BIG day full of events. Doors will open at 3pm, and we’ll give you a chance to grab a beer and get cozy before our ribbon cutting ceremony at 3:30pm with the Licking County Chamber of Commerce.

Thanksgiving weekend is also a time when we count all the blessings we have. It has always been at the forefront of Trek Brewing Company’s mission to build up our community. We’re planning to start that DAY 1, and we’ve lined up several amazing non-profit organizations to give back to during our Grand Opening.

We’ll have Habitat for Humanity represented at the brewery. We’ve partnered with Habitat to raise funds for The House That Beer Built project. Trek is one of several breweries in the Columbus area that have committed to raise all the funds necessary for one family home.

The Licking County Humane Society will also be represented on opening day. The Licking County Humane Society does a lot of incredible things for animals in our community. On Grand Opening day they’ll be raising funds for their “Save A Life” campaign. The Save-A-Life Campaign is an annual drive to help cover medical supplies and veterinary costs for shelter animals.

We’ll also have the Y Healthy Kids Network represented.  The Licking County Family YMCA Healthy Kids Network Backpack Program addresses the basic needs of students in Licking County by providing carriers of nutritious and easy-to-prepare food to take home on weekends when other resources may not be available. While free and reduced breakfast and lunch are available during the school week, unreliable access to food over the weekends can affect the level of food insecurity experienced by the student, increasing stress and decreasing productivity. Children who are hungry simply cannot concentrate to learn, have low energy, and reduced ability to fight off common childhood illnesses.

Mental Health America of Licking County will be hanging out with us for our Grand Opening as well! Mental Health America is the nation’s leading community-based nonprofit dedicated to addressing the needs of those living with mental illness and to promoting the overall mental health of all Americans.

Finally, the Kiwanis Club of Newark will also be at Trek. Kiwanis empowers communities to improve the world by making lasting differences in the lives of children. The Kiwanis Club of Newark supports Camp O’Bannon, which is a free summer camp that allows more than 400 disadvantaged children to enjoy a weeklong camp experience at no cost.

We hope that you’ll join us in making Black Friday Count this year. Trek Brewing Company will donate $1 from every pint sold during our opening day towards these incredible community resources. We’re thankful to be here. Our goal is to be a community gathering spot that gives back to the community in a big way. We’re starting it from day one.

We’ll be rolling out more details about the day as we firm them up! Stay tuned for an awesome tap-list with many of your old Trek favorites, and we’ll also have some new Trek favorites on tap.

Again, we are so grateful to all of you. Thank you for supporting us this far. Like any good Trek, the preparation often takes longer than anticipated… but it’s built our excitement for things to come. Join our journey. It’s worth the Trek.

Cheers, friends. We’ll see you soon!