Persephone Brewing Is Seeking a New Owner

I’m on the phone with Fraser Blackley, a longtime customer and house musician at Persephone Brewing Co., as he enjoys a cider on the tasting room patio off the Sunshine Coast Highway in Gibsons, B.C.

He pauses to read me a poem carved into a board before him. The poem is part of the decor, but also a reminder of the Persephone ethos:

The trees act not as individuals but somehow as a collective. Exactly how they do this we don’t yet know. But what we see is the power of unity. What happens to one, happens to us all. We can starve together or feast together.

This passage — from Robin Wall Kimmerer’s 2013 book Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants — reflects much of what I’ve been hearing about Persephone from the members of its community.

It’s a business but also something of a town square. A gathering place for locals and tourists. A home for various clubs — for readers, knitters, gamers. A killer music venue. And a place to kick back after work to connect with new and old friends.

“I now have so many friends through this place: Persephone friends,” Blackley says.

“Invariably somebody sits down and joins me and I end up getting to socialize. I also know that that’s true for a lot of other people, too. One of the reasons this place is so popular and one of the reasons I love it is that it is probably the most inclusive place I’ve ever spent time in.”

‘This isn’t a fire sale’

Now, after 14 years making craft beer, pulling pints, serving food and hosting countless patrons, friends and family, Persephone is looking for a new owner.

But maintaining the celebrated philosophy and atmosphere of the establishment is more important than finding someone who can cut a cheque.

“This isn't a fire sale,” says co-founder and CEO Brian Smith in an open letter on the brewery’s website.

Smith is hoping to hand ownership over following a biking accident that left him permanently paraplegic in 2023.

“That’s it. That's the reason,” he writes. “Not the market, not a bad season, not any person or partner or supplier. Just a body with different plans than mine and a company too good to be led at anything less than full throttle.”

When I speak to him, Smith stresses a need for stewardship. For a commitment to Persephone’s existing identity and relationship with the community. If he can’t find that, he plans to wind operations down in the fall.

“There’s lots of possibility for where a new kind of ownership group or people might take it, but my hope is that their ambition is aligned with our values and with our community and that we see everyone flourishing as a result of it,” he explains.

A magnet for people. And meaningful work

The sale includes the flagship Persephone location on a farm in Gibsons as well as the Alley, a commercial building in Powell River that houses a second Persephone location, among other businesses.

When Smith launched Persephone, there was no set plan to create a community hub. It happened rather organically — at least at first.

“We anticipated being a production brewery, a small farm, and we’d have this little tasting room,” he recalls.

Anders McKinnon came on early as Persephone’s brewmaster.

“He was our first hire and really helped ground the company in making really good product. But as soon as people tasted the product, they wanted to sit and have another one, and they wanted to have a pizza, and then they wanted to bring their brothers and sisters, have birthday parties,” Smith explains.

McKinnon was immediately drawn to just about everything that makes Persephone what it is, from working on a farm to partnering with the Sunshine Coast Association for Community Living, which provides housing and employment support for adults with diverse abilities.

“A lot of people got really on board really quickly, and I was introduced to probably just about every one of them in my first year on the coast, and that was really exciting to be just immediately part of that community,” says McKinnon.

Maintaining that energy takes work and dedication too, though. Blackley credits Smith and the staff for creating such an inviting atmosphere, particularly tasting room manager Juleika Villanueva.

“She has become, in a huge way, the heart of this place,” he says.

“She created the whole music scene here, and she's the one who also co-ordinates and works with all of the special events.”

An exceptional team

Villanueva came to Persephone, rather appropriately, as a community member looking for support with a project of cleaning up the creeks around town as trash had started to accumulate.

Learning that no one was tasked with doing it, she took on the job herself, getting volunteers together on Earth Day. And she enlisted Persephone to serve as a muster station.

At the end of the day, the volunteers were all treated to a free pint, and Villanueva, with decades of hospitality experience under her belt, was hired on.

Five years later, Persephone has now hosted as many Earth Day cleanups since.

“So, I started working here,” she says. “I just loved it. Loved the sense of community here. Loved the customers. Loved the Persephone grounds. Loved the job.”

And the job sounds like many things, from booking musicians to planning clubs and trivia nights to organizing Pride festivities to just connecting with folks every day.

“It’s become like a family thing here.”

Smith echoes this appreciation for the larger Persephone crew.

“We have a really exceptional management team,” he says. “Everybody from our brewmaster to our front of house managers to the general manager up in Powell River to our farm manager and our kitchen manager, these are all exceptional people and doing a fantastic job. In many ways, they run it.”

That’s an important point for Smith, who hopes to get serious offers from people passionate about running a successful brewery.

He’s not stepping away from a startup. This is a well-run organization, with talented people making it what it is.

“For somebody who might be considering coming in, it's not daunting,” he says.

“The ship is very much run well, and what it needs is a new invigoration of some energy and some equity that allows it to keep growing.”

Persephone Brewing is seeking a new owner. To learn more about the opportunity, read Brian Smith’s full letter to the community on the Persephone website or email him directly. Serious inquires only, please.