USA, TX: Toppled Turtle Brewing Company opens its doors in Dumas

Pre COVID-19, the number of craft breweries opening in Texas was on the rise. As craft brew sales increase during the pandemic, the demand for craft beer is growing, abc7amarillo.com reported on December 23.

In Dumas, the first brewery inside the city limits opened its doors on Wednesday December 23, at 11 a.m.

“On the east and west coast craft breweries have been big for a long time but as many people know in the center of the nation things take a little while to catch on," said J.L. Wiswell, owner of Toppled Turtle Brewing Company.

The owner of the Toppled Turtle Brewing Company is optimistic that craft brew fever will catch fire.

Opening a new brewery in the heart of the downtown across from the Moore County Courthouse and next to other businesses took longer than anticipated.

A number of zoning laws had to be ironed out.

“Written specifically in our zoning was that breweries are considered chemical plants so I thought it would be easy, " said Wiswell. "We did have to go before zoning and have it changed to allow for a brewery in Dumas, Texas.”

“With this building the way it was zoned and the wording in the ordinances and the zoning from the past we ran into some issues," said Bob Brinkmann, mayor of Dumas. "We didn’t realize when it came to breweries so we had to get some zoning changes and those processes went pretty well but J. L. and Ashley have had to cross the Rubicon if you will with the county and the city but I think it’s going to be well worth it in the end.”

To meet the state guidelines food trucks are brought in so the Toppled Turtle doesn’t have to operate under a restaurant model. The longer it took to open a brewery in downtown Dumas the greater the anticipation from local residents.

“The fact that I get to be the first customer is awesome," said Raphael McHenry, the first customer. "It wasn’t my goal but after all the struggles that they’ve had to get open and finally being able to open I’m excited to be a part of history here in Dumas.”

“With more than 30 years experience with the home brewing industry J.L. realizes that going in this direction with craft beer is the way to go for the future in Dumas.

Right now, the Toppled Turtle is open for to-go orders only. Once the city and county get under the mandated COVID-19 number of under 20 customers can stay inside to drink.

27 December, 2020