001I'm going to count. One, two, three. Everybody, so glad to see so many people here in this iconic space that is so new to Ashland. So old to Ashland, yet so new to Ashland. So, um, welcome to Clover Roads Ribbon Cutting. It's official after this, John. I know you've been open for a month. Um, but I had to make it official. There's something about um, a ribbon cutting that just feels like it just makes it real. And, um, for those of you who don't know me, um, my name is Beth Reynolds. I'm the economic development director here at the town of Ashland. Um, I was privileged to work on this project after the public safety building, the new public safety building was built, um, by the hard work of so many people. Um, and it
002vacated this space here and we went back and forth about what we were going to do with the fire station. Um, we really wanted to honor our firefighters. Um, we love the building. It's a historic building, so clearly we wanted to keep it um in its form that it is now that you'll see today and hopefully forever. Um so we ended up going through a new process for the town of Ashland. Um but I wanted to start I'm going to back up a minute because I wanted to start today with a story because the best part about this place is the story that it tells and the stories that are going to be told in here and the if these walls could talk, right? So, when I first met the owners of Clover Road Brewing,
003it was because I got a phone call one day that he wanted to pop up at the Corner Spot. And he didn't know how to get in touch with anybody at the Corner Spot. So, he was talking to his best friend and they were saying, "Hey, do you know anything about the Corner Spot? They're residents in town." And they were like, "Oh, my neighbor actually runs the Corner Spot." So, he got connected with me through a neighbor that lives across the street from me to say, "Hey, can Clover Road Brewing pop up at the corner spot, and I didn't find out that story until a while after the whole thing." Um, but I just thought that was a really cool connection. That's what Ashland is all about, those small town connections that lead to so
004many bigger things. And this is a perfect example of that. So, at any rate, John says, "Let's pop up the corner spot." And I said, "I can do you one better." How do you feel about an old fire station? Um, so we did something that we hadn't done yet in Ashland. Um, our assistant town manager, Jen Ball, and Michael and I, I'll introduce Michael in a second. Um, we talked about doing a different way approach on who is going to come into this space. So, we did um a request for um information. We just wanted to say who would want to come in here? What would they want to do here in this space? Um, we got a couple interested parties, but nothing really stuck. It wasn't big enough. It didn't have enough parking. Um,
005there were many reasons. So, um, we took the little bits that we got from feedback and we put out an a request for proposals and John and his team, um, decided that this was a great fit for them. So, Clover Road Brewing in Hudson, Mass has now opened their second location here and we could not be any happier. Um, especially said is is completely accurate. But I think what what's hard to capture in words is really kind of the perseverance and the dedication uh of this couple here and what they've had to go through to turn this place into what it is today. And it is just remarkable. I mean, if you had seen what this place looked like before and and some of you have, hey, Lynn, maybe you could give us a, you
006know, a few stories. Perfect. It's perfect. Yeah. I mean, Beth's sitting there going, "If these walls could talk," and I'm like, "Please don't." You know, there's no telling what's being said. But let me tell you, you've just really turned this space into your own. And but at the same time, you've respected the heritage and the history that is the Ashlin Fire Station built in what 1930 something, 1920 something. Um, and I just want to acknowledge everybody again who also played a role in getting the public safety building built because without that work being done, this place wouldn't have been vacated. But again, this is your day. Um, and I just can't congratulate you enough. You folks are killing it. It's unbelievable. This place is alive constantly. I mean, I came in here on a dark,
007dreary Sunday afternoon thinking nobody was going to be here and it's packed. So, you know, you're killing it. Congratulations. You know, I know what it's like when you have a vision and you you're like hoping it all turns out the way that you envision. And it's so satisfying when it does. And anytime we we start talking about a new business opening in downtown, I have to talk about the story that's downtown Ashland. It's an amazing transformation that's happened in 10 years. Folks, remember what this was like 10 years ago. made it what it is today collectively as a community. It wasn't staff. It wasn't boards. It wasn't wasn't just the private sector. It was all of us together making this town what we want it to be. And that's special. You're a part of something
008special. You're a part of a transformation. And you know what? Not everybody can say that. Not everybody can say that. Not every town can say that. So give yourselves a big round of applause as well. And John and Jamie, we wish you all the success, but most of all, thank you for making your story part of our story. And um we we love having community partners like you as businesses here in town. And um again, we wish you all the success in the world. Thank you. Thank you. This is amazing. On behalf of the Ashlin Business Association, allow us to welcome you to this vibrant and robust community that you are spearheading with this fabulous renovation. Uh on behalf of the Ashlin Business Association, please make sure you pay attention. We have some awesome events
009on deck. We have town forums with Michael Herbert coming up. It's really important. Stay focused, stay involved. And the Ashlin business community can help you with that. They you can help us with that. We're here to advocate advocate, collaborate, and cheer you forward. You don't just bring brewery and great beer to the town of Ashland. You're bringing a great place for to build community and to foster really great stories. And perhaps you'll be here when the fire department comes while we're all enjoying the space. That was awesome. Um, thank you very much. On behalf of the ABA, welcome to Ashland. Great. It's not every day and cut a ribbon. So, this is amazing. Thank you so much. Thank you to the town. Thank you to everyone who's been so supportive. Thank you for our staff.
010Thank you to our family. This has been quite the journey as many of you know. If you don't know, grab a beer. We'll tell you all about it. But yes, thank you. And the reason we're in this room is there are two big dreamers here, my husband and Beth. So without them none of this would have happened. So they the two of them had one phone call and some big dreams and so we are in forever debt and have been on this roller coaster. Um so cheers to my husband and um cheers to Beth and to the town of Ashland. An amazing community. We're so um happy to be a part of your story and have us be a part of your town and your main street, this beautiful street um and everyone involved. So,
011cheers. Grab a glass. Um we can't wait to hear more about you guys and be more involved in your community. One, two, three.