‘Very thankful and blessed’: Local small businesses excited for the future after Brewhalla opens

FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) - Excitement is in the air at Brewhalla. The new business center opened on Saturday with the area packed with people checking out the new establishment. You won’t find many national brand items in the place because it is all about the local small businesses.

“Being able to get that marketing and get to network especially. The future of this is huge, there’s so many possibilities around the corner that we have no idea about yet.” said Nicki Sneed, the manager at Nichole’s Fine Pastry and Café.

The Drekker Brewing Company spearheaded the project, bringing together 14 local businesses. Which gives them an opportunity to grow their brand and costumer base.

“We’re going to tap into the downtown crowd, see a lot of new faces, a highlight for sure,” said Matt Estin, co-owner of Bark’n Biscuits. “Nothing could have prepared us but we’re very thankful and blessed.”

The place was packed, coinciding with people celebrating St. Patrick’s Day in the Fargo-Moorhead area. These small businesses appreciate chances like this because they’ve been through a lot. They faced the COVID-19 pandemic, inflation and other adversities but have battled back.

“There’s such a great community in Fargo-Moorhead and this is it. You can feel it, it’s super palpable,” said Sneed. “Everyone feels very friendly, everyone’s really happy and so it’s really awesome to be a part of this coalition with all of these businesses working together. This is really cool.”

Brewhalla is open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and can be found at 1666 1st Ave. N. in Fargo.

Copyright 2023 KVLY. All rights reserved.