Stone Brewing Company chose Richmond, Virginia for the location of their East Coast Brewery and World Bistro in October 2014. Richmond won out over many other cities, including the other finalists, Columbus, Ohio and Norfolk, Virginia. This is a HUGE deal for the City of Richmond, the region, and indeed the Commonwealth of Virginia. 

Stone Brewing Company will bring jobs and development and revitalization to an community of Richmond that was decimated by 1970s "urban renewal" policies and has been kept down ever since by decades of economic and political negligence and outright and overt desertion by the political and economic powers of the city. 

And then Stone Brewing Company decided to locate in the Greater Fulton community of Richmond, an area with untapped promise and unparalled potential. Were we surprised? Absolutely. Finally, someone--a major company with a solid record of community collaboration--saw the potential that the City was blind to for decades. 

Certain members of the Richmond City Council are balking at the opportunity that Stone Brewing Company brings. It is just the kind of public-private partnership that cities around the country would give their right arm to be a part of. Richmond's history of provincial and small-minded actions has cost the city in the past...let's not lose this chance at the greatest opportunity for revitalization that the city has seen in...decades or longer. 

Members of the Richmond City Council: step up to the plate. Lead this city into a better place, one that is not mired in the sordid history of this site. This investment is a debt owed to the community of Greater Fulton, specifically to Historic Fulton. We can never bring Historic Fulton back, but we can move forward while celebrating the legacy of this Birthplace of Richmond--and Stone will be the first step. The community has been collaborating with Stone and the city staff to recognize the legacy of this place while providing a path out of poverty. Stone Brewing Company and World Bistro will be a regional asset in and of itself, but more importantly, it will be the catalyst for other investment that we so desperately need and that was snatched away by the violent policies of the past. Investments such as grocery stores, sidewalks, a school, small businesses, access to the James River and the Virginia Capital Trail, and finally, respect. Economic and cultural respect. As Council members, we expect no less. 

It is Richmond's time. You can change the perception of our city. You can raise a community that has suffered enough. You can move Richmond forward and upward. Or you can continue the policies that have kept this community and the City of Richmond down for the last 150+ years. You have the power to do that. Please do the right thing. Please support Stone and the Greater Fulton community and Richmond. Thank you.