WYOMISSING, Pa. — People who live in the reinvented Wyomissing suburb of Reading recently received the exciting news that Sly Fox Brewing Company is opening a satellite pub in the Knitting Mills — an upscale mixed use complex of office, retail, and restaurant space developed by Philadelphia-based Equus Capital Partners.
“Wyomissing is a booming area,” said John Giannopoulos, Sly Fox Brewing Company Managing Partner. “With large employers and great residential sections, growth is happening everywhere and we are excited to be a part of the development.”
To launch this excitement further, Sly Fox has initiated a unique funding campaign for the Wyomissing pub in association with WeFunder, an investment facilitator that offers contributors opportunity for return.
“It’s a unique investment opportunity,” said Giannopoulos who opened the first Sly Fox pub with his family in Phoenixville in 1995, “but it’s really about building a passionate community of like-minded people who love award-winning craft beer, great food, and great times!”
Sly Fox at the Knitting Mills will focus on developing a fresh and locally sourced menu to accompany their well-regarded beer portfolio. The convenient location, just off of Penn Avenue, is a prime spot for foodies and craft beer aficionados.
“We thought it would be a really unique idea to, as we enter new markets, to build anticipation with an invested group of brand ambassadors,” said Giannopoulos, whose production brewery is situated just twenty miles east in Pottstown, PA.
With its partnerships with Goggle Works and the Fightin’ Phils, Sly Fox has planted the seed for success with loyal Wyomissing patrons to open up a pub in Berks County.
“Contributors get a return and Sly Fox has a contingent of evangelists promoting the restaurant. It’s a win-win,” said Giannopoulos.
The idea is that a large pool of investors will contribute to the personality of the pub, called Sly Fox at the Knitting Mills, and will act as brand ambassadors as much as stakeholders.
The newest Sly Fox outpost will be located at 801 Hill Avenue on the eastern edge of the Borough of Wyomissing in a renovated building that was formerly a part of the expansive Vanity Fair Outlet Mall. The building that Sly Fox Wyomissing will call home is part of a development poised to transform Wyomissing into the ideal live, work, and play location in Berks County.
Equus has committed more than $70M into Phase I of the Knitting Mills, and Phase II, a 20-acre site north of the main campus, has already attracted corporate tenants interested in new construction build-to-suit offices.
Sly Fox selected WeFunder after brainstorming ways to proactively enter the highly competitive market. Besides ROI opportunity, contributors will receive exclusive perks and discounts at the pub.
What Is Crowdsourcing
Crowdsourcing is the practice of engaging a ‘crowd’ or group of people for a common goal — often innovation, problem solving, or efficiency. Thanks to our growing connectivity, it is now easier than ever for individuals to collectively contribute — whether with ideas, time, expertise, or funds — to a project or cause.
Crowdsourcing can provide organizations with access to new ideas and solutions, deeper consumer engagement, opportunities for co-creation, optimization of tasks, and reduced costs. The Internet and social media have brought organizations closer to their stakeholders, laying the groundwork for new ways of collaborating and creating value together like never before. Sly Fox is hopeful that this initial crowdsourcing campaign will yield an energetic community of built-in evangelists, excited about the brand and the best new pub in Wyomissing.
For more information on contributing to Sly Fox Brewing Company’s WeFunder campaign visit www.wefunder.com/slyfox
About Sly Fox Brewing Company
Since their inaugural brew in 1995, Sly Fox has crafted more than 100 different top-notch craft beers. Their critically acclaimed year-round lineup and highly anticipated seasonals are available in their brewpubs in Phoenixville and Pottstown, as well as top bars and restaurants in PA, NJ, NY, MD, DE, VA, and Washington, DC. They were the first craft brewery in the mid-Atlantic to implement a canning line, adding it to their facility in 2006, and with it, earned the first-ever Great American Beer Festival (GABF) medal awarded to a canned craft beer, in 2007. They have earned GABF medals virtually every year since, including a gold medal for Grisette Summer Ale in 2017, and are widely recognized as among the region’s best and most enduring craft breweries.