Last spring, Haven Brewing opened its doors to the Oberlin community, making it the first brewery in the history of the City.

The menu boasts a selection of craft beers, cocktails, dips, and flatbreads. There is even a shelf of board games available for customers to play. Haven was founded by Abbie Foster, OC ’08, and her husband and co-owner, Sam Foster, a self-trained commercial brewer, although he has been brewing beer non-commercially for 20 years. The Fosters spent four years designing and building the brewery from the ground up, until Haven Brewing finally opened in May. 

Haven Brewing is the first brewery in Oberlin in part due to the town’s history of “dry laws” and heavy association with the temperance movement. In Ohio, every city or township is only allowed a certain number of liquor licenses relative to its population as reported by the latest U.S. census. However, because all of Haven Brewing’s beers are brewed in-house, the Fosters went through a different process to obtain a specific permit. 

“We thought that we were going to be like, through the hoop, no problem, because we were doing a different license,” Abbie Foster said. “We were not vying for one of the favored few spots … What we didn’t expect was that reaching out to the department, we just would get no response whatsoever to phone calls and emails and just, reaching out again and again and hearing nothing.” 

Normally, businesses seeking a license are held to a vote by residents of their respective districts. While this permit and quota system are statewide regulations, Oberlin’s stricter dry laws largely persisted into the 1980s due to pushback from local voters. (“Beer Available in Town in ’80s,” The Oberlin Review, Dec. 9, 1994). 

Joe Waltzer, OC ’98, City Councilmember and owner of Black River Wine Shop and Bar, detailed the process of obtaining a liquor license. 

“After Prohibition, when alcohol became illegal, everything was dry, and communities had the option to do something called a local petition to allow their community to sell alcohol,” Waltzer said.

Oberlin is divided into multiple precincts, and a successful petition will allow alcohol to be sold within a specific precinct. In certain circumstances, a business may petition for just their address to be licensed, rather than the entire precinct. Next, the candidate must acquire a certain number of signatures from locals to get the petition onto the ballot. In the next election, a vote is held to determine if the license will be provided.

A 1994 article in the Review chronicles the Oberlin Inn’s — now 1833 Restaurant — campaign for a liquor license in the 1980s, highlighting local sentiment regarding the dry laws. Those who opposed the campaign viewed such laws as an important aspect of the town’s history: something that made it unique. After a second referendum, the Oberlin Inn succeeded, opening the door for more businesses to follow suit. Several restaurants now serve alcohol in town. 

“It was a catch-22,” Abbie Foster said. “You have to have your food license before you can apply for your liquor license. And then once you get that license, then you can start to make beer, which takes several weeks to be ready… It was very tricky to get everything to line up.”

Eventually, the Fosters were able to obtain their license by reaching out to an Ohio state senator.  Soon after, they were integrating themselves into Oberlin’s restaurant industry. The Fosters envisioned using their own unique skillsets — Sam’s interest in brewing beer, Abbie’s love of food — to create a space that fostered connections within the community. One of Abbie’s primary goals with Haven Brewing is to attract more visitors to Oberlin. 

“Our main goal has been connection,” Abbie Foster explained. “We think Oberlin is an amazing place. And not only do we want people here to connect, we want surrounding communities to come in and we’re like, okay, everyone speaks the language of beer. Maybe, just maybe, other people will come into Oberlin and see how cool it is.”

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, combined with the general difficulties that small businesses face, Oberlin was left with lots of empty retail space. The College has absorbed some of these spaces into their own facilities.  

“I think the community, the business community, is nervous about that because towns like us kind of survive on a critical mass,” Waltzer said. “We have x number of students … but there’s times when they’re not here, summer and this and that, and we really need to have people from surrounding communities look at Oberlin as a destination, and I think that kind of happens when you have a critical mass of good businesses.” 

Waltzer stated the City Council is exploring options for expanding economic development through various organizations and strategies. He emphasized that businesses with later hours tend to perform very well in Oberlin due to the number of college students.

“I used to own a burrito bar where Taco Flavored Kisses is,” Waltzer recalled. “And our busiest time was basically midnight until one or two in the morning … People leaving parties are coming out, and it’s nice to have something to go to late at night.”

Similarly, Foster expressed that she wanted Haven Brewing to be an appealing location for students, residents, and out-of-towners alike. She hopes that, as a first-of-its-kind business in the town, the brewery will make downtown Oberlin a more vibrant place.

“I know that Oberlin has very little nightlife,” Abbie Foster said. “We are one of the only places that’s open till midnight on the weekends … but I hope that just having a brewery in Oberlin will attract more [people] downtown to frequent any business, not just ours.”