E-Malt.com News article: USA, FL: Warrior Beer Company planning two-phase opening in Pensacola

One of the most difficult parts of being a veteran is processing what happened after you come home. As the son of a Vietnam veteran, Pensacola resident Gary Hefner understood this firsthand. He watched as his father struggled with civilian life until his death by suicide. Part of Hefner’s life mission is now to support veterans, especially in their struggles with mental health, the Pensacola News Journal reported on April 17.

This is why his new brewery on Pensacola’s west side, Warrior Beer Company at 10605 Sorrento Road, will be the next piece in his mission to give veterans a safe space to have lifechanging conversations.

“I think some of my best conversations and most open conversations have been when you have a couple of beers or cocktails and you just kind of let down some of those walls to talk,” Hefner said.

The space will not only provide a comfortable atmosphere stretching almost 11 acres and an occasional view of the Blue Angels flying by overhead, but will be loaded with high quality wine, seltzers and about 20 house-made beers on tap. He even plans to have a tap wall that will allow people to walk up and serve themselves.

“The idea is I want you to go enjoy your friends, I don’t want you to stand in line for 20 minutes,” he said.

Along with his partners, Hefner also plans to host fundraisers for organizations in support of their mission. One of his favorites is The CampFire Fund for Men’s Mental Health, an organization that helps offset the cost of mental health care in the community. It's a needed service, as Hefner said he finds men have a particularly difficult time being vulnerable in expressing emotions.

“Men in general don’t do real well communicating feelings and thoughts,” Hefner said. “You have to find some guys that are likeminded and have like backgrounds that have gone through certain things and it’s easier to talk. I share my testimony with them pretty much upfront and allow them to try to figure out if I’m the right person that they can share with.”

The brewery will open in two phases, an indoor and an outdoor, with the outdoor beer garden slated to open this summer. The indoor area will likely not open until next season, but he plans to style it with a modern industrial feel. He plans to make the space feel like home with polaroid photos of customers decorating the walls and a pinned world map indicating where his customers are from or have been.

The name “warrior” is one that is familiar to Hefner, and has been a steady symbol behind other non-profit work he has been apart of , such as the National Warrior Foundation and Operation Warrior Ranch.

“Warrior has been in my life for a long time,” he said. “Putting on that cloak of armor in some ways and just being a warrior in light, being able to get through challenges. It’s always been part of what I did. From the first organization that I started, which was National Warrior Foundation − then transitioned into Operation Warrior Ranch − was just understanding that it’s going to be tough, life is tough. But you can battle through it. If you have the right tools, the right people around you. That’s what you do to get through.”

The motto of the brewery adopts a similar mantra that: "From everyday fighters to everyday warriors — we got your six.”

In military terms, “got your six” is common phrase used to tell someone that you have their back and they are covered. But one doesn’t have to be in the military to be a warrior, Hefner said. It’s about fighting life’s everyday battles.

“My senior partner right now in this (brewery) has pancreatic cancer. So, it kinds of hits home what we’re doing as warriors, of being able to battle his battle together with him.”

As he continues building the outdoor space, he invites veterans to donate one of their challenge coins to be built into his epoxy outdoor bar. He plans to reciprocate a custom Warrior Beer Company coin in return.

“They would always be part of this outdoor bar as we build it,” Hefner said.


18 April, 2023