Lone Oak Brewery

“Our goal was to be a catalyst to bring back life to the area”, Jared Murphy explained when discussing Borden-Carleton. Before he and the other co-owners opened Lone Oak Brewery, some would suggest that Borden was seeing a decline, even before the pandemic. Many buildings were vacant, and the hubbub of Gateway Village was not what it could be. This was one of the many reasons that the group decided it would be the perfect place to open their micro-brewery.

Jared first realized his dream of becoming a business owner while managing a retail soccer store during his university years. Upon graduating, he began working at Sport PEI doing marketing and communications, where his desire to be his own boss only became more apparent. Sport being a big part of his life, helped him to transition into that commerce mindset. “In sport you are training all the time, you are working towards goals and it’s a very competitive nature, but I think that translates well into business”, he explained. With business on the brain, Jared started making plans to figure out what venture he might take on. After tossing around the idea of opening a cidery, Murphy reached out to an acquaintance at the time, Spencer Gallant, who was a brewer at the PEI Brewing company. After chatting for a bit, the initial plan of a cidery gave way to brewery. This decision was made after discovering that the craft beer market had more potential for growth, and not to mention, Spencer already had the skillset as a brewer. “He’s widely recognized as one of the most talented in the industry not just in PEI but also within Canada, so that was exciting for me”, explained Jared. The pair later brought on Jared’s friend, Dillon Wight, who had been a bartender at Gahan, and therefor, had experience within the sales side of the industry. After a year and a half of meeting together, the three owners opened Lone Oak Brewery in 2019.

Today, Lone Oak produces top quality beers that they package and then distribute amongst different stores and restaurants. The brewery has become a destination in itself that brings in both tourists and locals who help to support the business year-round. The facility is complete with indoor and outdoor seating, a tap room, live music performances, and trivia night, as well as serves food through “The Abby” which is owned and operated by Terry Nabuurs. “So now you can come in and enjoy the space, enjoy a beer, get a bite to eat, and listen to some live music”, Jared described. They have also become somewhat of an event venue. Although still feeling out this new service, Lone Oak can be rented out for parties, including weddings.

Now that COVID restrictions have lessened, it is obvious how well the brewery is being received by the influx of tourists in Gateway Village. Even during a weekday, the Village is a buzz, with the brewery in particular hosting hoards of tourists who are looking for a beer and a bite to eat after travelling over the bridge into P.E.I. This was made possible when the group decided to apply for the Tourism Activation Grant through the CBDC. “Obviously coming out of a pandemic and heading into what you hope to be is the next busy season, that grant essentially allowed us to be better prepared for tourists entering PEI”, explained Jared. With the funds, they were able to update the building, which included installing a steel roof, renovating the bathrooms, updates in the tap room, and improving the outdoor patio. “But the biggest thing for us was building up our inventory. We needed quite a bit of cash to be ready for the busy season because otherwise all of our cash would have been tied up in product which can be a little bit scary. The Tourism Activation Grant relieved some of that stress heading into the season”, explained Jared. Now after experiencing their first real summer season back with tourists, the co-owners are looking forward to further growth. “The dream is to be one of the most recognized micro breweries in Canada”, mentioned Jared. According to Jared, this journey may begin with the implementation of more tanks to increase their capacity and keep up with the demand. Whatever is in store for Lone Oak Brewery, the CBDC cannot wait to watch them develop further and continue on with their dream.