Tony Simmons

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What’s your current position at your brewery?

I’m the head fun maker and owner at Pagosa Brewing & Grill in Pagosa Springs, Colo.

What’s new at your brewery and what’s next on the horizon?

After 10 years, we recently completed a huge expansion at our brewpub. Moving from a tight, 2,400-square-foot pub to a beautiful 7,200 square-foot full-size restaurant with an indoor kitchen is a whole new world. We now have 68 employees on the payroll, and have become one of the most successful small businesses in our community. For the future, we are working to install a new and more modern 10-bbl brewery to keep up with the on-premises demand for varieties at our restaurant and expanding wholesale in our area. Lastly, we continue to grow beer culture in our community with unique collaboration concepts, festivals, and events.

How long have you served on the BA board of directors?

This is my second year on the BA board, and I have served on the BA Brewpubs Committee for the past four years. I have also been on the board for the Colorado Brewers Guild since 2011.

What’s it like to serve on the BA board?

To sit with the leaders of our industry (from the very small to the very large) and debate the future of craft brewing is a real privilege. I also appreciate the opportunity to travel with the BA throughout the country for board meetings, and talk with other members about their accomplishments, especially in markets that are just now emerging as brewing centers. Ultimately, it’s a great honor to give back to the association that was so enormously helpful to my success.

What challenges and satisfactions have you met during your board service?

As a small business owner, it’s sometimes challenging to keep pace with a massive number of happenings at the Brewers Association’from committees to initiatives, government affairs, events, marketing, and more. Yet it’s been incredibly satisfying to have a hand in creating some of these many remarkable successes for our fellow craft brewers. Cheers to the BA staff for making it all happen!

What do you like to do in your time away from the brewery and the BA board?

My wife, Julie, and I are co-owners. We live our business daily, and it’s a lifestyle. We greatly cherish family time with our son, Porter Alexander, who is nearly three years old. We love to take hikes in our nearby national forest, paddle the lakes of Southwest Colorado, travel to events like the Hill Climb in D.C., and enjoy a tasty craft beer or two on the way (Porter Alexander gets root beer for now!).

 


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