Letter to the Editor: Losing the Yazoo Crew

It can feel strange to publicly grieve a business being sold, as Yazoo Brewing recently was, but we’re grieving something other than a change in brewery ownership. 

I moved to Nashville just before Linus and Lila Hall opened the doors of the Yazoo Brewery. I quickly discovered Yazoo had the only hefeweizen that matched the ones I had while in Germany, so I regularly bugged my pal Dave to get me a job there. I somehow never made it to the Marathon Taproom for a pint, but I did secure an interview with manager Brandi less than a year after they moved to The Gulch. Soon enough, I was a regular Saturday fixture alongside Brian and Brent. It was hard work, but it was a fun and caring environment. How could you not love one of Kelly or Yvonne’s tours? The Taproom was a chosen family I quickly took to, especially when my now-wife started giving tours. 

TailGate Brewery Purchases Yazoo Brewing Company’s Madison Facility

Yazoo beer will continue to be brewed after new ownership takes over production

I never dreamed to manage the Taproom of the largest craft brewery in Nashville, but in August 2013, Linus asked me to do exactly that. I probably wasn’t qualified, but as I’ve learned in life, we’re all faking it a bit (or a lot). I was grateful to have folks behind the bar like Shelean and Mallory and Blake and Nathan on that initial part of the ride. 

While managing the Yazoo Taproom, I had the pleasure to hire so many wonderful humans. And it certainly wasn’t hard to find folks who wanted to work there! There was only one time that we posted a job opening. (Right, Lucas and Jaime?) That wasn’t because we only hired friends or family via word of mouth (ahem, Jordan, Erica, Seth, LP, Lyle), but because I always had a stack of résumés on deck. Those that stood out showed up for a pint on a regular basis (like Danielle, Denise, Karen) — I knew they understood the camaraderie behind the bar.

It has been eight years since I left Yazoo, just before the move to Madison. It doesn't feel that long, because every time I show up, I still feel like I'm part of the community. I would be naive to say the relationship hasn’t changed — I recognize that I’m now a paying customer. Indeed, there is only one person behind the bar who was there when I left — the fourth Yazoo Taproom manager, Justin. And yet this sense of community exists because, even though I never worked with the new crew, they worked with Cassie or Caina, who worked with Benjamin or Brendyn, who worked with Amy or Alicia, and on and on. It is the loss of this community that I am grieving. 

I want to be clear: Pouring beer is a way to earn money, and I knew that then. But we had each other’s back, and that’s what made it feel like a loving community. That’s why so many of our crew “Yazoo quit” — where you leave for a different job but eventually come back for another shift. And sure, it feels strange to be sad at the sale of a business when so many people, even locally, are having their communities removed by violence, legislation or neglect. Why is this white guy whining about a Nashville brewery changing hands when this has happened at least three times in the past two years?

Because I fought to improve the community for folks who worked at Yazoo. Because there are so many who have previously worked there that will feel this loss too. Because I’m worried that community will disappear for the folks who work there now. Because building community is what I still do for work. So yeah, I’m sad about Nashville changing, but I’ve earned this particular grief. 

You won’t find me pouring one out for this loss, but I will raise my glass of Yazoo Hefe to toast everyone I got to bartend alongside at 910 Division. I hope that Y'all — everyone who has ever been part of the Yazoo Crew — have continued to find and build community in your lives. 

Alan Fey

Yazoo Taproom, 2011-2018

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