GILMER, Texas — Nestled on the corner of Marshall St. and Henderson St. in Gilmer, you’ll find Ruth Emory's dream: Gilmer Brewing Company.
"Since my mom taught us how to make beer, we were able to partner up with some really amazing friends who had that same dream," Emory remembered.
The co-owner said for the past four years, the brewery served small town Gilmer. But as costs multiplied and the number of customers split, they’ve gotten to a point where they simply can’t keep up.
“We just appreciate everyone who comes in the door," Emory said. "But, especially the ones who have stuck with us from the first time we unlocked that door.”
Phyllis James and her late husband were the first customers.
“Everybody calls me bar mom because that was easier than trying to remember my name," James laughed.
After her husband passed away, James kept coming to the bar. Gilmer Brewing is a retreat for her that she’s painfully letting go of. Gilmer announced Thursday, they’re closing at the end of the month.
"Did I cry? Yes," James said. "It's like a death. It really is a death. It's kind of like 'where are we gonna go now?'”
The Beer Institute reports all three tiers of the beer industry, including brewers, distributors, and retailers took a tumble during the pandemic and lost an estimated $850 million in beer that went bad inside shuttered bars and restaurants.
All this while more than 550,000 industry jobs went down the drain.
The biggest expense hitting the small town tap is actually water.
"We have two really big reverse osmosis tanks that we use to filter our water before we even brew with it," Emory said. "And so you know, all that just, it's a big expense that people you know, sometimes don't even think about.”
Even with Gilmer Brewing’s last day currently being July 31, Emory is hoping for a miracle.
"Hopefully, we can figure something out," she said. "So, the dream doesn't die. So the beer doesn't die.”