The awakening of downtown Brownwood over the last several years has been booming. With more and more people choosing to take risks and pursue their passions, businesses have emerged at a steady rate. While many onlookers and shoppers only see the exciting and fun side of these small businesses the owners themselves know of the actual sacrifices and triumphs that come with owning a small business.
Nestled on a cozy corner on East Baker Street in downtown Brownwood you will find Pioneer Tap House, home of draft beer from all across Texas and some unique wood fired pizza recipes. The atmosphere inside is relaxed with many refreshment options for all ages. Great entertainment is never far away as the Jaynes often hosts local live bands on weekends. Just a couple of doors down you will find Earth & Noble, a women’s boutique carrying a vast array of sizes and diverse clothing options. Both of these small businesses are run by husband and wife duo, Micah and Ashley Jaynes.
The Jaynes family found themselves back in Brownwood in 2018 after moving away for several years. Micah Jaynes explained, “Brownwood has become home because we decided to take part in building a community we enjoy being part of. As young adults we wanted to leave Brownwood for years due to “lack of opportunity”, but when we did leave we realized how great of a town it is and that there was plenty we could do to make the things we wanted outside of Brownwood a reality in Brownwood. What started as a mission for the local church turned into a business venture that connected us to the community in ways we never expected and began a passion to help pioneer the growth of downtown Brownwood.”
Jaynes opened Pioneer Tap House in July of 2019 with a total of 18 different taps unaware of what was to come with the Covid 19 pandemic right on the horizon. “Our mission when opening was to bring our community together with events and introduce our community to the world of craft beer, specifically Texas craft beer. We felt that was an intentional way to bring people a consistent new experience and bring some pride around everything we serve is made in Texas.” Said Jaynes. But as the pandemic began to shut businesses down, Pioneer Tap House was no exception. They found their doors closed shortly after they had opened for the first time. Jaynes explained what that was like. “With the changes Covid brought we had to quickly adjust. Thanks to our community, we were able to continue moving forward by selling beer to go. We are thankful for the city as they worked with us. They would close Brown Street every weekend and we moved some tables and chairs outside so we could continue to serve plus still have live music and events. We constantly had to adjust and come up with creative ways to keep moving forward. We expanded to 31 taps of all Texas craft brews and we also applied for our food license. That changed the game and we were able to open our doors again and serve inside. Selling food opened up a whole new world for us. We were blessed with a cook that makes incredible pizzas, so we explored the possibility of expanding our food menu too. We began trying different recipes, expanded our kitchen and now serve a full menu that is still growing. This whole season was extremely difficult but being on the other side we realize how much life did not happen TO us, but happened FOR us.”
Others have said that Jaynes took a lot of risks with his business during the pandemic but he sees it a little differently, “Faith is saying no matter what, we’re going to find a way to make this happen. People say, “You take a lot of risks. No, I just have a lot of faith and we will figure out what it takes to continue to make community happen.”
When other businesses come in and find a home in Downtown Brownwood Jaynes says the team at Pioneer is excited. “That’s the whole point”, he said. “It’s not about competition. The only real competition is within yourself and in your business.” We will continue pushing the growth of events and supporting other businesses that want to build downtown.”
Jaynes shared some advice for those considering starting a business in Brownwood, “Just go for it. Know your “why” and be intentional about how the vision serves the community. Don’t think you have to know everything to get started. It’s a learning process that will come with lessons you could never prepare for but a community like Brownwood is a great place to begin.”
Jaynes extends his utmost gratitude to the City of Brownwood and our local government. He said, “We are blessed to have leaders in our city government and other service minded business owners that understand the process of growth and the stretching it takes to make a community thrive. The BMDD has been incredible to the growth of Brownwood and I give them a ton of credit to the success of Pioneer Tap House. I’m sure there are things I don’t even know about that they made happen because their heart is to serve and that mentality has become part of the downtown business DNA.” Jaynes wrapped up by saying although he is the face of Pioneer Tap House the backbone of the business is his group of friends he met in life-group through his ministry. “We’re just a group of friends who wanted to truly connect with the Brownwood Community in a non-traditional way.” Jaynes is excited about the growth of downtown and he said that they will continue exploring ways to make Brownwood a destination to experience.
