[lively music] - [Mike] People love the food here.

People love the beer here.

- [Narrator] Which is why so many people love to come to Newgrass Brewing Company in the heart of Shelby, people like Mike Royster, who comes here regularly.

- It's just a really friendly place, and we know that we're going to meet old friends and make new ones every Friday night when we're down here.

It's a great place to meet people.

- [Narrator] It all started in 2014 when a group of local business leaders, seeing the state's craft beer boom, thought it was time for Shelby to get on board.

- I don't believe there was a brewery between Asheville and Charlotte, and we thought, well, if we could make this happen, it would be really good for our community.

It would bring people into town.

- [Narrator] The old Hudson department store building, which had been closed for about 10 years, went up for sale, and Holland and his partners bought it.

- We were sort of like the dog that chases the car and catches it.

You know, we had the building, so we had to make something happen.

It had been gutted, so fortunately for us, it was sort of a clean slate, and had to pretty much build it from the inside out.

But in the process, we wanted to make sure we kept the historic nature of the building as you see from the outside.

- [Narrator] It opened as Newgrass Brewing Company in August 2015.

- It's exciting to see what's happened.

Never dreamed that we'd be brewing beer, you know, in the same building where, you know, I used to buy my clothes.

Even in a small market like this, where craft beer was not quite as understood or prevalent, I think a lot of people have learned to appreciate good craft beer.

We see people traveling from a wide geographical area to come to this location for the beer because of the reputation it's gotten.

- Probably dial that in a little more.

- [Narrator] You can thank brewer Zach Newton for that reputation.

- We are sort of a Swiss army knife of breweries.

Lagers, IPAs, sours, stouts, I've put more of an emphasis on traditional brewing here recently, but we are well known for our wonka beers, [laughs] just the wacky, fruited pastry sours, and ginormous stouts full of fun stuff.

- [Narrator] Newton says those non-traditional brews help draw attention to Newgrass out in the broader world, but he's more grounded in traditional old European style beer, and he says most of his customers are too.

- I want seemingly boring styles to excite them.

I want them to be able to find nuance in something simple.

- [Narrator] Using locally sourced grain helps keep it simple.

[machines humming] Sourcing local is also important to Chef Wes Allen.

His menu is a wide variety of pub style food.

Favorites include the chili cheese curd burger with locally sourced beef and cheese, and tacos, fish, beef, pork, or vegan.

Allen's lifelong love of cooking has its rewards.

- It's the love of seeing their happy faces when they do get a good cheeseburger that's delicious.

- [Narrator] The name Newgrass is an homage to this community's bluegrass roots, and the brewery is bringing it new life.

- Over the last five to 10 years, we've had really an influx of younger people coming in to the area, and it's been good not just for the brewery, but for the entire economy of Shelby and Cleveland County.

[indistinct chatter] - [Narrator] It's been good for the people who live and visit here too, who are just looking for a fun place to be.

- [Mike] We've always wanted us to be very family friendly and to make people feel comfortable and warm here.

[lively music] - Newgrass Brewing Company is at 213 South Lafayette Street in Shelby, and they're open Tuesday through Sunday.

To find out more, give them a call at [704] 406-9959 or go online to newgrassbrewing.com.