WBEZ | Goose Island

Workers at troubled window factory turn to mayor

Fri, 06 Jul 2012 05:05:00 -0500

A Chicago-based financial firm with ties to Mayor Rahm Emanuel has a say on the future of a troubled Goose Island window factory. The workers at that plant are asking for Emanuel’s help to save it.

Mesirow Financial Holdings Inc. has invested big bucks in the factory’s California-based owner, Serious Energy Inc. Mesirow Senior Managing Director Thomas E. Galuhn serves on the Serious board of directors.

A Mesirow statement to WBEZ calls the window factory a “money-losing operation” and talks about auctioning off the assets. The plant’s workers fear that would lead to liquidation.

The same workers held a six-day occupation of the factory in 2008 and won moral support from President-elect Barack Obama. The occupation pushed a lender of Republic Windows and Doors, the plant’s owner at the time, to settle with the workers.

In 2009, a precursor to Serious Energy bought the window company for $1.45 million and vowed to try to bring back the workers.

This year, however, Serious Energy told them it was closing the operation.

The company made that decision after investing “several million dollars trying to reengineer the Republic operation to make it sustainable,” the Mesirow statement says. “Serious concluded that in the present economic climate it was not possible to turn around this money-losing operation.”

About 60 employees began another occupation of the factory February 23. After 11 hours inside, they left with an agreement. Their union — the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America Local 1110 — says Serious Energy promised to keep the plant open another 90 days and help find a buyer.

Now about two dozen of the workers have formed a cooperative, New Era Windows LLC, in hopes of purchasing the business themselves. They are not disclosing investors but say they have raised nearly $500,000 to buy some of the plant’s equipment and resume production.

A union official said Serious Energy agreed late Thursday to hold off on a planned auction and resume negotiations with the workers.

The cooperative is calling on Emanuel to help broker a deal. “His administration has made a commitment to try to save jobs and promote manufacturing,” said Brendan Martin, a New York-based consultant who is helping the cooperative raise funds. “The city also happens to be interested in environmental retrofitting programs like new windows.”

Martin also noted that the city invested millions of dollars in tax-increment financing for the plant.

If Emanuel gets involved, he might have some pull. In December, the mayor appointed Mesirow Senior Vice-President Olga Camargo to the city Plan Commission. In May, when Michigan Avenue magazine put Emanuel on its cover, Mesirow’s Chicago headquarters hosted the edition’s release party.

Neither Emanuel’s office nor Serious Energy answered questions about the factory Thursday.

Wrigley Company moves from iconic Chicago building

Thu, 21 Jul 2011 21:02:00 -0500

An iconic Chicago building is losing its namesake tenant. The Wrigley Company announced Thursday that it's moving out of the Wrigley Building on Michigan Avenue by the end of 2012. The company has built a new $57 million complex on Chicago's Goose Island as part of a plan to consolidate employees. The project was first envisioned in the early 2000s.

"The Wrigley Building is an icon of Chicago, we love what it has brought to the city, we are absolutely sure that for the long term there will be a Wrigley Building, and it will look as stunning as it does now," said Andy Pharoah, Wrigley's senior vice president of corporate affairs. "But for us as a company, we want to bring all of our global team together, in a modern, open-plan environment that encourages people to work together that really gets the best innovation possible and really supports creativity."

Pharoah says the company has never occupied more than 40 percent of the eighty-seven year old building, and that they have not yet decided how to invest in the space. They are planning on renovating the space to attract new tenants to what is now a largely vacant structure.

Employees began moving to the Goose Island building in 2005.

"Five years ago, we had a number of associates moving over there. If you asked them now, would they come back, they say 'Absolutely not,' they love it as a place to work, and we think it’s very good news for us as a company," said Pharoah.

On Goose Island, remnants of ‘forgotten’ Chicago

Wed, 29 Jun 2011 17:25:00 -0500

Time, redevelopment, and gentrification redraw neighborhood boundaries and erase what may have once been landmarks. They hide, bury, and obscure pieces of the city. They create layers in the built environment that are often invisible to passers-by, even to people who may have lived in the area for years.

There’s one Chicago group dedicated to rediscovering such lost moments in the city’s built and architectural history. The appropriately named Forgotten Chicago uses columns, photos, and online discussion boards to uncover and celebrate the obscure and the hidden: wood block alleys, disused fire stations, and “ghost signs,” those painted billboards on the sides of buildings that have faded almost beyond recognition.

They also conduct neighborhood tours that allow contributors to share their discoveries. These are not your out-of-town aunt’s architectural boat tour, although the group is planning an August encore to last year’s popular boat tour of industrial sites along the Calumet River. Forgotten Chicago’s tours explore things like pre-zoning Pilsen and Little Village, and remnants of the extension and removal of parts of West Ogden Avenue.

On Sunday the group staged a tour to explore underappreciated moments on Goose Island, an industrial zone in the middle of the Chicago River, and nearby Pulaski Park, once home to substantial numbers of Polish immigrants who worked in Goose Island’s factories. Co-founders Jacob Kaplan and Serhii Chrucky and contributor Dan Pogorzelski led participants through overgrown highway-side parks, urban renewal town squares, and what might be Goose Island’s oldest family owned manufacturing company. You can see some of their discoveries in the slideshow above, and check out future tours here.

Goose Island Brewery's acquisition: the exit interview (podcast)

Wed, 13 Apr 2011 11:00:00 -0500

Everyone in Chicago may have been shocked by the news recently that Goose Island had been bought by Anheuser-Busch InBev for a cool $39 million, but the deal - according to the family who started the local craft brewer - makes a lot of sense. While local beer drinkers were writing the epitaph for yet another local brand, the company's current (and soon to be former) Brewmaster says if they wanted to continue to meet demand for their specialty brands like Matilda and Pere Jacques, they had to either take on a huge amount of debt, or let A-B help them do it. The Hall family will retain ownership of their two local brewpubs, and while the purchase means the end of an already successful career for Greg Hall, it just might lead to something exciting in the future as well. I spoke with Hall last week at length about what the purchase means for the company and for its legions of loyal beer drinkers.

Why Anheuser-Busch bought Goose Island beer

Tue, 29 Mar 2011 21:00:00 -0500

Some fans of craft beers are foaming over the news that industry giant Anheuser-Busch plans to buy 23 year-old Chicago-based, brewing powerhouse Goose Island Beer Co. The $38.8 million deal was announced Monday, but is set to close in June.

On the surface, the two brewers couldn't be more different: One is known for mass-marketed and mass appeal brands like Budweiser and Busch; the other is known for microbrews and specialty ales like 312 and Matilda.

So why would Anheuser-Busch gobble up Goose Island? Two words: craft brews.

“These critically acclaimed beers are the hometown pride of Chicagoans,” said Dave Peacock, president of the St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch in a statement. “We are very committed to expanding in the high-end beer segment, and this deal expands our portfolio of brands with high-quality, regional beers. “As we share ideas and bring our different strengths and experiences together, we can accelerate the growth of these brands.”

As overall U.S. beer sales have fallen in recent years, the fast-growing craft brew market is expected to make up 11 percent of total beer consumption this year. “We just need to be more competitive there,” Peacock said. Led by its signature brew, Honkers Ale, last year sales of Goose Island grew 24 percent, selling $4.2 million in beer up from $3.4 million in 2004. Goose Island sold approximately 127,000 barrels of beer in 2010.

“Demand for our beers has grown beyond our capacity to serve our wholesale partners, retailers, and beer lovers,” said Goose Island CEO John Hall in a statement. “This agreement helps us achieve our goals with an ideal partner who helped fuel our growth, appreciates our products and supports their success.”

So what's next for Goose Island beer?

Goose Island’s beer will continue to be brewed in Chicago, and A-B plans to invest $1.3 million by this summer to boost production capacity by 10 percent, said Peacock. The deal does not include the acquisition of two Goose Island brewpubs, which will remain open, and no disruption to supply will occur in current markets.

Hall, who will stay on as CEO, added that the “new structure will preserve the qualities that make Goose Island’s beers unique, strictly maintaining our recipes and brewing processes.” Effective May 1st, Brewmaster Greg Hall will be step down, and will be replaced by Brett Porter, Head Brewer at Deschutes Brewery in Bend, Oregon where his beers have earned more than 150 awards.

As one of the Midwest’s first craft breweries creating acclaimed ales including 312 Urban Wheat Ale, India Pale Ale, Matilda, Pere Jacques and Sofie, as well as a wide variety of seasonal, draft-only and barrel-aged releases including Bourbon County Brand Stout - the original bourbon barrel-aged beer – followers who fear for the future of Goose Island Beer should rest easy.

"The beers will not change," said Goose Island Brand Ambassador, Ken Hunnemeder on Twitter. Calling the deal, “inevitable," he added, “it will allow us to make great beers that got bumped from the lineup."

Even more beer? Cheers to that.

Chicago bar owners wonder about Goose Island's future

Tue, 29 Mar 2011 09:00:00 -0500

Bar owners around Chicago are trying to figure out what the acquisition of Goose Island will mean to them.

Anheuser-Busch purchased Chicago-based Goose Island in a deal worth $38.8 million. Goose Island's CEO John Hall said the acquisition doesn't mean the recipes are going to change.

"If you've got problems with the quality or anything like that, you can call me up," Hall said.

Hall said the brewery will keep operating in Chicago.

Goose Island has earned a reputation for its craft brews as much as for its more popular drinks like Honkers Ale or 312. But bar owners like Phil McFarland, who runs Small Bar in Chicago's Ukranian Village neighborhood, said he's conflicted about the merger.

"I don't guess that Anheuser has bought them to make Budweiser knock offs and part of the appeal of a brewery like Goose Island is that they have the recipes they do that have the, sort of, respect in the market that they have and from a business point of view, I would have to think they'd be sort of crazy to mess with that too much, but time will tell," McFarland said.

Meanwhile, Chris Staten, the Beer Editor of Draft Magazine, said the acquisition shows Anheuser's further commitment to the craft brew market.

Hall said the company couldn't brew some of its specialty beers fast enough to keep up with demand and the deal with Anheuser-Busch will help with that.

"Chicago is going to continue to be our principle market," Hall said. "We will probably expand into some new markets, but we're not going to do any of those things until we supply the markets we're in right now."

Hall said Goose Island's roughly 120 employees will still operate in Chicago.

The deal still needs the approval of regulators, which is expected to come later this year.

Anheuser-Busch buys Goose Island beer company

Mon, 28 Mar 2011 14:53:00 -0500

Chicago-based Goose Island has agreed to be acquired by Anheuser-Busch in a deal worth $38.8 million. The companies announced the acquisition on Monday.

In a statement, the head of Goose Island, John Hall, said the Chicago company has grown so rapidly in the last five years that demand for Goose Island beers has outgrown the capacity of its brewery. Hall said the company has had to limit production of some of the beers. Hall said the deal with Anheuser-Busch will help Goose Island continue to grow.

Hall said Goose Island's roughly 120 employees will still operate in Chicago. Hall also said the beers will remain the same and that he wouldn't have agreed to the deal if it involved changing the recipes.

In announcing the acquisition, Goose Island said Hall will continue to be responsible for the Chicago brewery, which the company says will remain in operation.

Some of the beers Goose Island brews include Honkers Ale, 312 Urban Wheat Ale and Matlida.

The deal still needs the approval of regulators, which is expected to come later this year.

Chicago's Goose Island brewery moves some beer production out of state

Tue, 22 Feb 2011 20:45:00 -0600

Chicago's Goose Island Beer Company is shifting some production to New Hampshire.

Goose Island brews popular beers like 312 and Honker's Ale, as well as specialty beers like Matilda, and limited-editions like its Bourbon County Stouts.

Brewmaster Greg Hall says production grew more than 20 percent last year. Goose Island is operating at "full capacity," and the company has demand for even more beer. The brewery is temporarily shifting some production of Honker's Ale and India Pale Ale to the Redhook Ale Brewery in Portsmouth, N.H.

Hall says the company eventually plans to build another brewery in Chicago, and bring that production back here. They're hoping to take advantage of growing demand:

"It's very exciting that it appears craft beer and Goose Island in particular has really gotten over that tipping point," Hall said. "We're not just for the real beer aficionados now. We're no longer a curiosity for the mainstream beer drinker. We're just part of the regular rotation."

Hall said that's partly because people's tastes have changed. He said many people favor more flavorful beers now.

He also credited the tough economy. He said people are saving money, so they're not necessarily buying new cars or taking trips to celebrate, but they still want to reward themselves. Demand for Matilda, one of the more expensive offerings from Goose, grew 97 percent last year.

"Beers' role as an affordable luxury is, I think, more important now than ever," he said.

Hall says the first batch of IPA brewed in New Hampshire ships this week. The brewery's doing a test batch of Honker's Ale right now. That beer will likely ship from the East Coast this spring.

Nationally, the craft brewing industry is growing quickly, according to figures from the Brewers Association. Craft beers were up 9 percent by volume in the first half of 2010, compared to overall U.S. beer sales, which dropped nearly 3 percent in that same time period.

Top 5 shrimp shacks in Chicago

Thu, 10 Feb 2011 12:00:00 -0600

photo of Snappy's Shrimp courtesy Joseph Storch

Nothing says "Happy Valentine's Day" like a basket of fried shrimp, right? They are wonderful for soaking up alcohol in the middle of the night, but Chicago's fried shrimp houses also manage to keep alive the dream that we, too, can access the fruits of the Gulf anytime of the year. Bonus points go to those who make their own zippy cocktail sauce. Sure, there was an oil spill last summer down there, cutting off the shrimpers for a while, but it hasn't seemed to slow these folks down one bit (which makes me wonder, but oh, what the hell).

1. Frank's Chicago Shrimp House, 4459 S. Archer Ave, (773) 523-4624

2. Hagen's Fish Market, 5635 W. Montrose Ave., (773) 283-1944

3. Snappy's Shrimp House, 1901 West Irving Park Road, (773) 244-1008

4. Goose Island Shrimp House, 1011 West Division Street, (312) 642-3640

5. Troha's Shrimp and Fish House, 4151 W 26th St., (773) 521-7847

Florida county hires official tied to Chicago scandal

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 18:39:00 -0500

Miami-Dade County has hired a former Chicago window company official near the center of an alleged scheme to loot the business, pilfer manufacturing gear and set up a new operation in Iowa. Former Republic Windows and Doors Chief Operating Officer Barry Dubin will earn $425 an hour to help turn around Jackson Health System, Miami-Dade's struggling system of hospitals and clinics, according to the Miami Herald. Dubin will serve as the system's chief restructuring officer over the next nine months, the newspaper reports. Cook County prosecutors last month charged Republic CEO Richard Gillman with defrauding company creditors and stealing cash from the firm. The indictment identifies an unnamed co-schemer as the company's chief operating officer. Republic shuttered its Goose Island plant last winter without federally mandated severance payments to the factory's roughly 240 employees. The workers, members of United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE), responded with a sit-in at the plant. The sit-in quickly became a national symbol of the nation's economic crisis. It ended six days later when two Republic creditors -- Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase -- agreed to pay the workers a combined $1.75 million. "Dubin is the last guy I'd want to see in charge of a hospital," says UE organizer Mark Meinster. I tried to reach Dubin on his cell phone Thursday evening. My message asks whether Cook County authorities have been in touch and whether he's the right fit for the Florida job. He hasn't returned the call.