Crafting Beer and Building Relationships at River Bluff Brewery
by Shannon Bond
The River Bluff Brewery sits like an arrow between Frederick Ave and N 13th Street in St. Joseph, Missouri. Not long ago, it was a crumbling historic site with a collapsed roof. But after a lot of blood, sweat, and maybe a tear or two, the transformation into a not-so-typical brewery was complete. Now, it’s a place to find unique local beer, play board games, take pictures, and make memories with friends and family.
“We knew we wanted a space people could get together and feel comfortable. Not a tiny bar but enough space that people can gather, just that wow factor,” Eddie Derr says.
It all started when Eddie Derr rented a room from Chris Lanman in 2013. In that first fateful meeting, Chris invited Eddie in for a beer. It was a craft beer. At the time, there were no craft breweries in St. Joseph. These beers, Chris explained, were from Chicago, brought back by a friend. Until then, Eddie hadn’t been able to find a craft beer in his newly adopted town. When he asked for one at the local bar, he ended up with a Boulevard unfiltered wheat. It was good. But to Eddie, craft beer meant crazy flavors and innovation like Dogfish Head offered in Delaware, where he had lived for the previous ten years. Little did he know that the move to St. Joseph would shift his professional horizon, carrying it farther out with the tide from each brew.
“So first, on the East Coast, I kind of fell in love with the really heavy, really hoppy, high alcohol dark beers. And then, out here, I started falling in love with those lighter wheats, the loggers, and the other types of beers. I joke to people and say, I wish my guidance counselor knew what they were doing in high school. Just tell me to get involved with beer, and you know, we’re all good!”
Fast forward a few years from 2013 to 2015, and St. Joseph still didn’t have a craft brewery, and their discussions had grown into a dream of starting one. But would there be a market for it in St. Joe? It was exciting to think about. And then, Chris moved to Virginia in 2016 and started the Basic City Beer Co. with his brothers. It was a proof of concept. He stayed in touch with Eddie, sharing his adventures and lessons learned. When Chris moved back to St. Joseph, there was no stopping them; they were going to open a brewery of their own.
But where do you begin? Eddie knew he’d have to jump into the deep end, and in this case, it wasn’t the deep end of the pool to cool off in the summer; it was a high dive into craft beer and years of tough decisions and long hours.
“It’s hard to do it on the side, especially if you have to work a lot of hours on the weekend. It was all or nothing, so Chris and I both left our full-time gigs.”
Eddie had been an athletic trainer for over ten years. Originally from Ohio, he’d earned his undergraduate degree in athletic training in North Carolina. After school, he’d worked at a university in Delaware as a trainer for ten years, earning an MBA at the same time.
“It was nice to have summers off, but once football camp starts, you’re going full-on until the end of the school year. Then it’s two and a half months to recharge before you’re back at it.”
After years of a demanding athletic schedule, Eddie moved to St. Joseph. It was a slower pace and a chance to be close to friends he’d made in North Carolina. Working for Mosaic Life Care, he provided training for athletic programs at high schools. Starting a brewery would be a leap of faith for him and his wife and daughter. It would be a step away from the set schedule, benefits, and regular paycheck. But he welcomed the business challenge.
“Having an MBA is good. It’s a degree, but in the real world, you learn on the fly. The basics are there, but you’re still figuring it out as you go.”
One of the first steps was forming an LLC and landing the initial friend and family investors. After that, they knew they’d have to find the perfect building. It had to speak to them, connect with the community, and share the city’s storied past. It was a discussion they’d had many times when Chris was in Virginia helping his brothers.
“It took a long time to find a location. We wanted just the right one.” A long time was about two years, Eddie explained. They talked about each possible location for months until they finally found one by accident. Chris was working as a mail carrier when he stumbled upon an antique building with no roof on Frederick Ave. As fate would have it, the contractor planned to add a roof and save the historic site. And as fate stretched its hand out even further, they learned that the building, a Ford dealership at the turn of the 20th century, rested on the foundation of an 1850s brewery. The building owner told them he’d work with them to bring their vision to life if they got the funding. The momentum grew from there, and the River Bluff Brewery was born. Once investors understood the idea, they jumped on board.
“When we first looked at the building, we sat there with a cooler of beer and pointed out where everything should go.” It was all about the details and character, like making sure the brewery tanks were always in the line of sight for patrons. “We wanted people to see the equipment from any angle. When we walked into that building, it told us what it wanted to be, and luckily, the building owner believed in it and saw it, too. We’d be halfway through building something and go, nope, that’s enough, looks perfect like this. And everyone else is like, ‘yep, we think that’s right, too.’ Wall color, brick color, it told us what it wanted to be.”
A ten-foot neon Y perched on the side of the building is a random piece unless you’re from St. Joseph. It turns out it was the sign from the old Y motel and social club that used to sit where 169 highway splits. The building owner rescued it from the motel’s demolition site, and Eddie thought, sure, why not? Let’s throw it up there. “And the third day we’re open, this couple comes in, tearing up, and tells me why they are so excited about seeing it. They explained that their parents got married there.” They tell Eddie their own story, too, how they met as part-time workers at the Y and had been married for fifty years. “All of a sudden, this sign we put up, it’s not even the most exciting piece. We have a lot of neat and exciting pieces, but then their story, I’m like, holy smokes, that’s amazing.” Eddie, sitting at a high-top table outside the brewery, greeting employees as they come in for their shift, explains that connections and stories like that make everything they do so much sweeter.
“Yes, it’s beer. We’re in the beer business, absolutely. But it’s also about the conversations you have with people, the relationships you build with people. We have some guys and gals that come in at three every day when we open. Now they come in, and we have that relationship, and we have those conversations.”
For Eddie, every moment spent struggling to rehab a building in St. Joseph in the middle of the sweltering summer heat was worth it. “I mean, Chris and I have scars all over our hands. There’s definitely blood and sweat in there from every single one of us that worked and helped to put it together.”
And finally, in 2018, when they opened, Eddie and Chris didn’t have to wonder if there was an audience for craft beer anymore. St. Joseph, Eddie says with a confident smile, knocked it out of the park. “It was proven very quickly that there was a market for craft beer. The people jumped on the boat with us and helped us row from the start. It was growing very fast, and we were reinvesting a lot to keep up with growth.” And then, around March 2020, the pandemic struck. “There wasn’t a day that went by that we weren’t getting emails from people asking if they can help. And it wasn’t just customers. It was the city, the chamber, every institute you can think of. Even organizations that use our venue space. That community up there was tremendous for us.”
Fortunately, just before the pandemic brought everything to a screeching halt, they had formed a board of directors. They were making a lot of decisions, and Eddie wanted to tap into the experience of their investors. It’s an experienced group with a lot of wisdom to share. It offered a solid foundation to navigate the pandemic’s challenges. Eddie’s tone is confident and grateful at the same time as he talks about the board. At first, staying open was all about restricted hours, curbside growlers, and canning with an old machine they scrounged up. But what was the plan? What do you do when an unimaginable pandemic rages on? Well, it had to end eventually, so why not expand? Eddie figured if they could turn the shell of a historic building into an awe-inspiring space for their brewery, why couldn’t they weather the pandemic and come out swinging? He pitched the plan to the board.
Eddie explains that the board had many questions about how they would operate and survive during the COVID shutdown. Still, when he pitched the expansion idea, they understood. “We honestly have some of the greatest people on our board, and they have all dealt with their own businesses. They told us, makes sense, let’s do it.”
The plan was to open a location in Kansas City’s River Market, and in late 2020, the search for a new building began. In May 2022, they finally opened their doors. A little behind schedule, Eddie admits, but there were challenges, like a lingering pandemic.
“In K.C. River Market, it’s still somewhat a work in progress, but we’re working through things and plan to build a similar vibe. It’s about beer and relationship building.” And while they are one brewery among many in the K.C. market, their niche still holds true; support the community and create a place to gather with friends and family. And serve world-class craft beer, of course. Food will be offered in the River Market location, and in St. Joseph, Eddie and Chris make it a point to find space in the schedule for food truck vendors each week. And he’s quick to point out that River Bluff Brewing locations aren’t the typical party spots. They are unique venues for wedding photos, board game nights, business events, and even a recent pet adoption day.
“I think we started by wanting to prove to the rest of the area that St. Joseph has a lot to offer. If we build this thing, you’re going to come to St. Joe and not only learn about us and craft beer but about all the other businesses and what St. Joe has to offer. I’m tired of being a fly-over city. I want to be a fly-to city.” Eddie talks about spending locally and how it’s an investment in the community, jobs, and people. There is nothing wrong with vacations away, he’s quick to point out, but St. Joseph, Kansas City, and Northwest Missouri have a lot to offer.
