Southern Pines Brewing Company has become a household name in North Carolina with two locations in Southern Pines and distribution in all 100 counties in the state.

Micah Niebauer, CEO and co-founder, opened the first location in Southern Pines in 2014 with his two friends and fellow green berets, John
Brumer and Jason Ginos. They met while stationed at Fort Bragg and soon decided to start the craft brewery, leaving the Army behind.

Traveling to the world’s top breweries, they took notes and learned the business.

“This was never a hobby. This is what we did and not a side project. From the concept to the creation of our product, there was a lot of care
and intention in our business,” said Niebauer. “We realized early on that we couldn’t be a success without knowing what was important to our

community. We drew on our experience finding out what was important to key leaders in areas of the world we were in. We had a broad approach
to looking at who lives here and how we could fit in to be successful.”

With that approach, the brewery motto, “Rooted in the community,” is the underpinning for their success. “We try to be authentic, masters
of our craft. We want to know our customers and find what they are drinking – hard seltzers, ciders, craft core beers, seasonals. It’s important,”
said Niebauer, “Our slogan ‘Rooted in the Community’ had been the most foundational thing we’ve created. It’s been our guiding light in our business
and in our community.”

After years of success at their original taproom and production brewery, Brumer and Ginos left the business for other adventures and Niebauer
took on the role of sole owner.

“We couldn’t have opened without the blood, sweat, tears and money from the three of us. We started with three owners. John and Jason
left to pursue other passions, but I think we’re all happy to see it still exists. We’ve built something that has survived. Ownership transitions can destroy a business, but we all have enough trust and respect for one another that allowed us to see the dream of the Southern Pines Brewing Company to go on,” said Niebauer.

Niebauer opened the second location in downtown Southern Pines in the middle of the pandemic in October 2020. A beautiful corner space

with an outdoor patio in the heart of the downtown area and continued success in that location led him to look at downtown Fayetteville as a new expansion of the brand. A special use permit has been approved by the City Council and Niebauer is hoping to close at 123 Hay Street in downtown Fayetteville by the end of the year.

“I think it was based on our experience opening in downtown Southern Pines that opening in the heart of the city brings a whole new
level of community and vibrancy. I really looked at the success of that model although I looked at other locations outside of Fayetteville,” said Niebauer.

“I lived in Fayetteville for five years. On Hay Street, it’s really trending in a neat direction with the stadium, in the heart of the town.” 

Another part of that downtown feel that Niebauer has been impressed with is the support those surrounding the location including Capitol Encore Academy, which was
part of the reason that Southern Pines Brewing Company required a special use permit with its proximity to the school, other downtown business owners and staff from the Cool Spring Downtown District and City Hall.

“One thing that was unexpected was the support from downtown business owners. Hank Parfitt, who owns City Center Gallery and Books, took hours out of his time to come out to our Southern Pines location and then to speak at the City Council meeting in support,” Niebauer said. “It was very kind
and purposeful. Bianca Shoneman, the president and CEO of the Cool Spring Downtown District, has also been very supportive from day one.
She was the one who talked with Capitol Encore Academy and had their board of directors write a letter of support on our behalf for the City
Council. It’s really exciting to see everyone from downtown and even at City Hall with Craig Harmon and Jennifer Baptiste be so supportive. We would love to be a part of that as a business owner downtown.”

Niebauer has been working with Fayetteville-based Critical Path Solutions for general contracting services as he has started the vetting process
for the downtown location. “We’ve been working with Critical Path Solutions and they are phenomenal. From planning to presenting our special use permit, we’re incredibly excited to partner with them,” he said. “For the space at 123 Hay Street, we would love to be able to use the second floor, take a restorative approach to the bricked in windows, have a place for live music and a possible rooftop bar. Of course, we won’t know until the permits are
done and the process is further down to see what the building will actually look like. We hope to close by the end of the year as long as everything
proceeds as planned. And if this doesn’t pan out, we will continue to look at Fayetteville.”

Fayetteville is its ideal location for an expansion of Southern Pines Brewing Company as Niebauer already has relationships working with

other local breweries within Cumberland County.

“We have already talked about a collaboration beer with other breweries like Dirtbag, Bright Light, Lake Gaston and Huske if we come to

Fayetteville. It’s nothing too formalized, but we bring the jokes and suggest fun ingredients. It’s getting all the owners together and coming
up with a good beer to celebrate an opening,” said Niebauer.

It’s that sense of community and collaboration that keeps Southern Pines Brewing Company going strong, from participating in events
across the state to giving back to nonprofits like the Special Forces Warrior Foundation and the Special Forces Charitable Trust along with
others like the Junior League of Moore County, the Boys and Girls Club and Friend to Friend.

“We work with dozens and dozens and dozens of nonprofits in our area and across the state. Our ability to bring the party and root in the com-
munity is who we are. We’ve worked with veteran based organizations and more. We think about the customer and find out what they care about at
the core,” said Niebauer. “We also do a bunch of events from Beericana in Holly Springs and Voracious + Rare in Wilmington to Pecktoberfest
at Segra Stadium and 1st Fridays in Southern Pines. COVID has reshaped the calendar, but we have a mobile trailer and are out there.”

Their state-wide distribution has additionally been a huge factor in their brand expansion through N.C. “Now that we work with Healy
Wholesale, business has opened up quite a bit. Our beer is everywhere from Harris Teeter to Mac’s Speed Shop and Segra Stadium,” said Nie-
bauer.

The Southern Pines Brewing Company continues to have success, but Niebauer has never forgotten the legacy that built the business or
the staff that has gotten the business where they are.

“What I’m most proud of today is that we have put together a phenomenal group of people with our business and our projects with our
community values. Our success is the people who want to work with us, who make it fun to go to work every day. It’s an incredible thing
that helped us grow,” said Niebauer. “It’s been a milestone achievement for us to start offering health insurance because of the hard work put

in. That’s been a major thing for our staff because it’s important.”

As Niebauer reflected on the last seven years, he remembered a story from a Christmas party from the start of the business.

“One fun story was that in our first few years of opening, we were invited to the Secretary of State Christmas Party as America’s Beer.
Ambassadors from all over the world shared our craft beers and it was amazing that our little company was able to be a part of it. It would be
hard to top that night.”

With the humility, hard work and success that has already been demonstrated from Niebauer and his staff at Southern Pines Brewing
Company, it is hard to fathom that being the last of its kind. As the title of their most popular beer, Man of Law, demonstrates in the Canterbury

Tales, the value of constancy, or unending patience in faith, will always yield a positive result.