Inside Two Locals, Philadelphia’s first Black-owned brewery

“The more that we saw that there was a lack of Black brewers and a lack of Black breweries — that is what really pushed us to want to open up this space,” Mengistu Koilor said.

Beer fan Richard Koilor bought a home-brewing kit in 2016 and set it up in his brother Mengistu’s West Philadelphia backyard. The first batch, they said, “tasted like beer.” Once they got better, they embarked on a greater mission:

To open Philadelphia’s first Black-owned brewery.

Last weekend, Richard, 33, and Mengistu, 43, opened Two Locals Brewing Co. at uCity Square at 37th and Market Streets, part of University City’s burgeoning science campus developed by Wexford Science & Technology and Ventas Inc. and the University City Science Center.

Inside Two Locals, Philadelphia’s first Black-owned brewery

“The more that we saw that there was a lack of Black brewers and a lack of Black breweries — that is what really pushed us to want to open up this space,” Mengistu Koilor said.

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