Transparent Brewing finalizes expansion into sustainable, farm-to-table event space

Transparent Brewing Company’s Expansion Building in Progress. // Photo by Joe Ellett

Creative juices and entrepreneurial expertise run deep within the Brown family. In 2015, Mark Brown, retired CEO of Burger and Brown Engineering, nudged his wife Michelle and son Nolan to put their hustler hats on when word spread that Grandview was looking to land a microbrewery. 

The idea being that Nolan would run the brewery side of things, while Michelle took over the restaurant, pairing the two in perfect tandem. And at that moment in time, Transparent Brewing Company and The Chive Simply Good Cafe & Market were born.

Shortly after, they got boots on the ground and started planning in 2016. But it was going to take some time, considering they had to, quite literally, build the brewery from the ground up after finding a prime location with room for expansion.

The location that they settled upon was at the intersection of I-49 and Route 150, right across the street from Gail’s Harley Davidson on White Ave. Not only was the site perfect for growth, but the idea of accessibility played a large role in the foundation as well, being right off a major metro interstate.

“This spot is about 15 miles from about probably 20 to 25 different communities in the area. Because breweries are kind of a destination place, people look for them, we figured people would come to here,” Michelle says. “And there really wasn’t isn’t anything like this on the south Kansas City side.”

Prior to the family business venture, Nolan had been working in the brewing industry for a few years, applying his biology and chemistry degree from Missouri State toward one of his passions.

While kicking his foot into the door of the brewing business, Nolan made ends meet by doing drywall work on the side. He kept steady at his vocation working at different breweries in St. Louis, Fayetteville, Arkansas, and Brevard, North Carolina before returning to Kansas City in 2017 as the business opportunity opened up.

“I’ll be honest, opening a place wasn’t even on my mind…,” Nolan says. “If anything, I have to give the credit to my dad for the idea of opening a place, because I was thinking small potatoes and he was thinking bigger picture.”

Michelle on the other hand, took a more unconventional route to culminating her side of the business. She previously worked as a professional dancer for multiple different dance companies around Kansas City, including nonprofits.

But her love for dance was not going to put food on customers’ plates, and she recognized this. So when the notion of a family-run duo of brewing and food service came about, she took it upon herself to learn as much as possible about the culinary arts, enrolling in Johnson County Community College’s culinary program. 

“I had never been in the restaurant industry before, so I was just trying to come at it with as many tools as I could,” Michelle says.

There, she combined her innovative thought process with her passion for sustainable food resources to further her knowledge before diving into the business aspects of the restaurant. 

The Inside of Transparent Brewing Company’s Expansion Building Under Construction. // Photo by Joe Ellett

“Treading Water for Two Years”

Then four years in the making, they were ready to open shop in 2020, a nightmare for any small business owner. With lockdown mandates and the overall fear of being in social settings, the two businesses found themselves struggling through their first couple of years.

“We were pretty much just treading water for two years. The building was done, the business was ready, so we couldn’t not open. When you’ve got a mortgage on your building you know you’ve gotta start trying to figure out how to generate revenue,” Michelle says.

On top of that, Michelle mentioned that spending money on advertising to get the word out about their recent opening would not have amounted to much given the situation. 

“We tried anything and everything, but to no avail, because nobody was getting out,” she says.

“With us opening at that time, the word of mouth just wasn’t there,” Nolan says.

Three years since the beginning of the COVID pandemic and the two businesses are definitely on the upside. It was only a matter of time.

“The first two years were tough, I won’t even lie to you about it. We had a major uphill battle and it just felt, the first two years, like everything was super stagnant,” Nolan says. “This year is the third full year that we’ve been open, it kind of feels like the floodgates have opened a little bit, particularly through the summer.”

With a great deal of determination and perseverance, they have made it to the other side of their bleak beginnings, and this phase of their venture could still be considered the beginning as they continue to progress in the restaurant and brewing industry.

“This year has felt a lot different. It was a bit of a breath of fresh air to see the door swinging a bit more, seats were filled a lot more, so it feels like we can utilize this momentum moving into this expansion and be able to just ride the wave and hopefully, it grows on itself and keeps going,” he says.

Transparent Brewing Company’s Expansion in Progress. // Photo by Joe Ellett

The Sustainable Substrate

One of Michelle’s driving focuses for opening The Chive, is because she has a sense of due diligence when it comes to providing the community with food that they can trust. A majority of the food that the restaurant serves comes within 150 miles of Kansas City.

“I care about what we’re doing to our Earth. And if we don’t take care of it, the ground isn’t gonna be capable of growing food anymore,” Michelle says.

“We make everything from scratch, it’s farm to table so we’re sourcing from local farmers which adds money back into the economy.”

Her enthusiasm in regard to long-lasting products runs deep enough to where she has hosted workshops on composting, food waste, and the overall consumption of sustainable produce. 

“That is the passion that drives me to do this, and there are maybe 25% of the people that come here understand that, and that’s why they come here,” she says.

There are multiple obstacles that come with trying to make all of the commodities that they serve environment-friendly, such as a lack of resources from local farmers and produce that simply just cannot grow in Missouri or Kansas climates.

“There are choices, but the majority of the time, if I do it right and I set up my systems right, and I’m diligent about it, I can purchase as much local as I possibly can,” Michelle says.

On top of their award-winning brews and stellar sustainable food options, the community of employees and regulars truly make the establishment worthwhile.

“There is a fabulous community here and you experience it when you come and hang out at the bar,” she says. “We have regulars who will chat you up, it’s family-friendly, it’s dog friendly, so the environment would be the third piece.”

Taking the community aspect and combining it with her drive for serving eco-friendly greens and goods has led to many special events centered around the tight-knit group of consumers and employees. One being that they supply Thanksgiving food to members of the community who are looking for a more sustainable approach or may not have time to prepare the annual feast.

Customers Playing Cornhole in Transparent Brewing Company’s Expansion Building. // Photo by Joe Ellett

Finalizing the Flourish

While Mark is just a percent owner of Transparent Brewing, he still plays a large role i

Transparent Brewing Cornhole Board. // Photo by Joe Ellett

n how both businesses are conducted and has helped them achieve the fruits of their labor. With the help of Mark’s entrepreneurial mindset, the two separate entities have found themselves with the capability for growth.

The family-oriented business is hopeful that the expansion will drive in more business during the slower months of the winter. 

Their new expansion located on the west side of their original brick-and-mortar ascended from one of America’s favorite  yard games: Cornhole.

“It kind of just started as we were trying to figure out how we can do cornhole more months out of the year,” Nolan says. “Of all things that have been popular and have really taken off out here has been the cornhole.”

As far as south KC goes, the cornhole community is quite extensive. Transparent Brewing is an enabler of the hobby, having established leagues and tournaments to keep the scene afloat, and having held up to 50 teams in previous tournaments.

The Chive Cornhole Board. // Photo by Joe Ellett

“Having this extra space, we can now do our regular business that we would see on a Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and then add to that as well too,” Nolan says. “Rather than having to play that balancing act of which one’s worth it, now we can just be like yeah we can do both.”

In addition to the bag tossing that the new facility will hold, live music and possibly future screening events are in store with the expansion. The family also plans on hosting private events within the sector for large group outings.

“Take everything you know and love about Transparent and the Chive right now, and just add more to it,” he says. “It’s gonna be the same feel, it’s gonna be the same vibe, it’s gonna be the same everything we’ve been doing but just more capabilities and hopefully more fun.”