USA, CO: Foam and Folly Brewing to open its doors on October 21
When Jeff and Joy Reid arrived in Grand Junction in 2018, seeking the perfect place to establish their brewery, they found their future in an unlikely location, the North Bay Business Journal reported on October 17.
The building at 330 S. Second St., across from Grand Junction’s train station, was previously owned and operated as an auto shop under the Fuoco family. When the Reids bought the property, they were tasked with turning a structure built in 1949 into a trendy microbrewery.
After more than three years of preparation by the Reids, Foam and Folly is finally opening its doors Thursday, October 21 from 2 p.m.-9 p.m. for its grand opening.
“I think this is a fun place where we’ve created an inviting atmosphere,” Jeff said. “There’s all kinds of décor around here that’s fascinating and interesting. I think the folks will find that the beers that we have on tap are good beers. We just hope everybody enjoys their time down here. We’ve created a relaxing environment. Just come on down and kick back.”
The décor choices — including collections of 8-track and cassette tapes of classic musical artists, paintings, a model head with bottle caps for eyes and hair, and a “candelier” hanging from the ceiling in which each of the differently colored lights is held in an old steel beer can — are Joy’s doing. Jeff said Joy is also responsible for coining the term that would eventually become their microbrewery’s namesake.
The couple built their apartment on top of the brewery, where the decorating taste is almost as eclectic as it is downstairs.
“I’ve always been a collector of vintage things and I like a lot of color,” Joy said. “I like, as far as my art, just to collect found objects or vintage items and stuff like that and try to put it together. I particularly like making altars and stuff out of that. I’ve always been a collector, and since I have a lot of little things, I have to find out a way to display them. I try to create stuff that’s art or decorative objects to decorate my house.”
Joy’s favorite contribution to Foam and Folly’s aesthetic might be the music tapes on the wall.
“(Jeff) had two cases of cassette tapes when we moved over from Denver, and I was like, ‘I need to get rid of them,’ but some of them I just couldn’t bear to get rid of, so I thought, ‘Well, I’ll keep them and put them in an art project some day,’ ” Joy said. “Then I bought those and thought, ‘Huh, I need more,’ so I started collecting more when I was here at the thrift store.
“I had a lot of fun with the 8-track tapes and a lot of people have gotten a kick out of those — the people who actually remember 8-track tapes.”
The Reids moved to Denver from California in 2001 and spent more than a decade there. They never owned a brewery while there — Foam and Folley is their first spirits business venture — but once the region became too crowded for their liking, and once they settled in Grand Junction after moving around the American Southwest for a few years, they had proper insight into how to establish a watering hole.
Once some brewers became his acquaintances, Jeff “got bit by the brewing bug.”
“I got to know some of the brewers over there and they encouraged me,” he said. “They said, ‘Jeff, if you want to open up your own place, we can provide some good guidance and insight into that.’ ”
Jeff did much of the renovation himself, even building the wooden tables featured in the microbrewery’s beer garden out back. Brewing equipment was provided by Montrose-based Rocky Mountain Vessels, which also supplied Monumental Beer Works and Ramblebine Brewing Company.
Foam and Folly is located between Simmons Lock and Key Shop and The Rock Shop. When the Reids decided on the location, they were under the impression that the train station district would undergo a transformation in the coming years.
That revitalization hasn’t yet come to fruition, but the Reids are hopeful that it still might.
“We feel like it may be the next up-and-coming area of Grand Junction,” Jeff said. “We would love something to go with the old train station there. We open up, maybe the old train station gets remodeled, some of the other historical buildings around here get remodeled, and this could be the next sort of ‘thing’ in Grand Junction.”
If the area remains relatively unchanged to its current state, however, Jeff is confident the microbrewery will make a name for itself and build a loyal base of customers.
“Everybody come on down,” Jeff said. “It’s been a long journey. We’re excited to open.”
18 October, 2021
