Hop Car Brewing looks to bring quality brews, food and service to Main Street
The four owners of a soon-to-open brewery are not just aiming to make it one of the best stops on Butler’s busy Main Street, but rather to make Butler one of the best stops in Pennsylvania.
Hop Car Brewing is a new venture launched by Bill and Lindsay Atkinson, of downtown Butler’s Chop Shop, and Steve and Meredith Reed. It will take over the location of the former Butler Brew Works at 101 S. Main St. in 2026.
“The brewery was missed for the last year. You can see the response from that online, through social media, things like that. It made sense to put a brewery back in,” Bill Atkinson said.
He and Steve Reed became friends in junior high and played in a band together before naturally growing apart after graduation. But a plan formed between them after Steve Reed bought the former Butler Brew Works building at a sheriff’s sale in September for $287,500.
“Steve and I both have been working on trying to revitalize downtown our own separate ways for a handful of years. Where (Steve and Meredith) are able to revitalize buildings and then find businesses to go in them. Lindsay and I have been doing it through hospitality and service for 15 years now,” Bill Atkinson said.
From moving in equipment and beginning the process for a liquor license, work has already begun on their future location. Bill Atkinson said everyone working on the business has their own skill set, which created natural roles that each person took up.
The only hole he said they recognized out of the team was a lack of brewing skill. To that end, the four hired Dan Yarnell to serve as head brewer.
“We all had a discussion about brewing and we felt that none of us could provide the quality of beer that we needed. So we went out and found, in our opinion, an excellent addition to our team,” Bill Atkinson said.
Yarnell has over 15 years of brewing experience, including as a head brewer; has founded his own brewing consulting firm and even taught brewers at Point Park University. He is also a medalist for the World Beer Cup, LA International Beer Competition and the Great American Beer Festival.
“And he enjoys teaching about it. That’s been a fun part that he is teaching us this extra layer to it, which is really interesting,” Meredith Reed said.
The four said they are excited to offer “excellent beer, excellent food and excellent service” when their doors open next year.
But for them, Hop Car is about more than just brews. It’s about the community that calls it home. The namesake alone is “a nod to Butler’s rich industrial heritage” and a reminder of the historical production of train hopper cars in the area, its Facebook page said.
Bill Atkinson said that normally, when you see a downtown area undergoing revitalization, it starts with arts and entertainment, but requires a healthy supplement of eateries and recreational activities to fill the gaps.
“Now, with the Penn (Theater) being open, we have a lot of the entertainment. So we need a few more of the hospitality-based businesses to really keep people downtown before shows and after shows,” Bill Atkinson said.
He added the location, on the corner of Main and Jefferson streets, is one of Butler’s busiest intersections and important to keep occupied. He also said he believes supporting the other businesses on Main Street will keep people there longer and increase the stops they make.
“If you’re only worried about how to get them in your door, then you’re really doing yourself a disservice, because they have to choose to go in your door every time. I’m OK being the second or the third or even the fourth stop when somebody’s downtown,” Bill Atkinson said.
Looking ahead, the four said they are thrilled by the immediate outpouring of positive responses to their announcement and are excited to open their doors as soon as possible.
“We seem to have a lot of people, from not just our friends and family but this small town, that are excited about what’s going to happen here,” Lindsay Atkinson said.
