Funkytown Brewery, one of nation's few Black-owned craft breweries, gets big grant from City of Chicago

Funkytown Brewery is one of the few Black-owned craft breweries in the nation.

It all started with three childhood friends who grew up to love beer. Now, Funkytown is planning a new brewery and tap room thanks to a multimillion-dollar grant from the city.

"This just takes our home brew to the next level," said Bloomfield.

Recently, Funkytown Brewery cofounder Rich Bloomfield took CBS News Chicago around Funkytown's space at beverage incubator Pilot Project Brewing, 2140 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago's Logan Square neighborhood, where the brewery's beer was first made professionally.

"You're supposed to enjoy the flavor and be able to enjoy more than one, so we have moderate alcohol levels," said Bloomfield. "We keep the bitterness low, because we're trying to encourage new beer drinkers into the space."

Funkytown has now received a $3.7 million grant from the City of Chicago. The money will be used to create a new brewery and tap room on the Near West Side.

"It's a sense of gratitude from the city, so that they actually see what we're doing, and you know, they're very appreciative, and they actually respect what we're trying to do," said Funkytown Brewery cofounder Greg Williams.

Williams started Funkytown officially in 2021, along with Bloomfield and a third cofounder, Zach Day. The three met growing up in west suburban Oak Park.

"Once we had some money — you know, working our jobs, getting out of college — we tried out craft beer and realized that it was actually better than the normal beer that we were drinking prior," Williams said, "so  in 2017, we came together to figure out  a plan on how we could actually understand how to make beer first before we created the business."

Now, Funkytown is one of the few Black-owned craft breweries in the country.

"Less than 1% are Black-owned in the industry, so it's very important for us to continue to grow and show that, you know, everyone drinks beer," Williams said, "and we want to be in that space as well."

"Craft breweries tend to be in predominantly white areas, so if they're not in the grocery stores in the Black neighborhoods, if the tap rooms aren't in Black neighborhoods, and the marketing isn't geared towards Black people or other underserved groups, then you're kind of implicitly like left out of that space," said Bloomfield. "You just think it's not for you."

So Funkytown wants to prove craft beer is for anyone who wants it.

"Just continue to grow, and keep it funky," said Williams.

Funkytown hopes to have its new brewery and tap room open sometime in 2027.