Optimism Brewing Co. Headed for Broadway

[Photos: Gay Gilmore]

After searching for the right location for more than a year, Gay Gilmore and Troy Hakala are bringing Optimism Brewing Co. to an auto row building on Capitol Hill in 2015. "We've really always wanted to be on the Hill because we live here and we think it's a great neighborhood," Gilmore tells Eater.

The married couple are used to working together on ambitious projects: Both ex-Microsoft employees, Gilmore and Hakala went on to launch Recipezaar.com, which, according to Puget Sound Business Journal, they sold in 2007 for an undisclosed sum rumored to be in the neighborhood of $25 million. PSBJ also reports that the couple purchased Optimism's 94-year-old building at Broadway and Union for $6.15 million last month.

Gilmore says working with her partner comes naturally. "Troy and I...are a really good match," she explains. "He's the creative side and I'm kind of the business side. Starting a business is very, very difficult and you can't do it if you don't love it, you really won't succeed. It's one thing to say we love making beer but it's another to make a business out of that."

Instead of opening a brewpub in the space, "we try to start only one business at a time," Gilmore says, Optimism is planning to host a rotating list of food trucks. Drinkers in the tasting room will also be able to carry-in food from nearby restaurants or have it delivered. "We welcome all of that," she says. The same goes for kids.

The couple is in the middle of permitting, scheduling, and waiting for equipment for the brewery. Optimism plans to open its doors in early 2015.
· Optimism Brewing Co. [Official Site]
· Optimism Brewing Co. [Facebook]