St. Nicholas Brewing Company MDH welcomed into Carbondale Chamber of Commerce

CARBONDALE, Ill. (KBSI) – It’s the only active brewery inside a general aviation American airport and one of only three in the world: St. Nicholas Brewing Company MDH.

General Manager Abby Ancell said it took about four years for her vision of a brewery inside an airport to take shape, but the company’s third location opened in May 2022. 

“I loved the idea. My partners loved the idea. We just thought it was super unique, never been anywhere like this,” she said. “It just kind of snowballed and here we are.” 

The Carbondale Chamber of Commerce welcomed the brewery into the chamber with a ribbon cutting on Thursday.

Ancell said the way Carbondale conducts its ribbon cuttings enhances the connectivity that can happen at these events.

“This is just kind of a special way to alert the community, introduce ourselves to the other businesses,” she said. “The way that Carbondale does their ribbon cutting is that they have a business afterhours, so different businesses and people from the community will come out for the ribbon cutting and then stay after and we all just kind of chat and throw around ideas and get to know each other.” 

Chamber Executive Director William Lo said connections happen naturally when a business joins the chamber.

“I tell everybody this, you know, people do business with people that they know, so being part of the chamber, it’s sort of a built-in network,” he said. “You get to meet all these other business owners, and when they’re looking for a place to eat, a place to buy insurance, if they know you and you have that rapport, they’ll come to you.” 

The concept of a brewery inside an airport is not one most people would think of, but there is an allure to it.

“There’s nothing cooler than having a beer, having a drink and watching planes land and take off,” Lo said. “It’s just fun.”