Kasson seeing new business growth as 2022 ends
Chaotic Good Brewing Co. opened in Kasson on Nov. 15, complete with a taproom and pizza ovens. Business there has been steady, said owner Scott Stroh.
The taproom was nearly full on the Friday after Thanksgiving, with several couples and families enjoying the beer and pizzas and playing an array of board games available.
“So far, so good,” said Blooming Prairie resident and first-time taproom patron Carissa Easton, who was meeting her cousin Kelli Walker from Kasson for a pint. “It’s a cute little place.”
Easton ordered the Oktoberfest and Walker had the stout. The family of Jenny Recker, Glen Meyer and Jon Meyer enjoyed two pizzas, the farmhouse lager, the Oktoberfest and a flight.
They brought in McDonald’s happy meals for their four kids who joined them. On other days, food trucks park in the taproom’s parking lot and serve up fresh food.
Stroh picked Kasson for his business both because it’s home and because there was a gap in the market. “From a business stance, it’s the only brewery between Rochester and Owatonna,” he said. “There was an opening in the market from a business standpoint.”
“But mostly,” he went on, “it’s home. It’s a good, close-knit community.”
In other Kasson business news, a second Kwik Trip will be opening up next year, as will a two-stores-in-one Family Dollar and Dollar Tree, said Ian Albers, the city of Kasson’s community development assistant. Kwik Trip will be constructed near the Kasson-Mantorville High School and Family Dollar and Dollar Tree will be constructed by Dollar General.
The Kwik Trip will be open 24 hours, have a car wash and add 20-25 jobs to the community, Albers said. Family Dollar will hire 20 staff with some part-time and some full-time.
“Each of these businesses will draw people from Kasson and the surrounding communities as well,” Albers said. “What I’m hoping is that they can be mutually beneficial for each other.”
“Investments in our community are cumulative,” remarked Timothy Ibisch, city administrator for the city of Kasson, about the Kasson business surge. “These new businesses boost growth and local jobs, and I think people will not only be excited to come to Kasson and see what these new operations have to offer, but also be exposed to already existing businesses.”
Chaotic Good Brewing Co., meanwhile, is open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., “so people can have a pizza and a pint and check out the place,” Stroh said.