BENNINGTON — Celebrating its 30th anniversary in business, Madison Brewing Pub & Restaurant will launch on Friday the first in a year-long series of planned musical events.
“This is our first big event; you know, for our 30th anniversary – 1996 to 2026,” said co-owner Michael Madison, whose family established the landmark 428 Main Street brew pub in February 1996.
“We are celebrating this year on the 13th,” he said. “Our actual anniversary is the 14th. We opened on Valentine’s Day, 1996.”
Music Friday
On Friday night, Madison’s will feature Jarod Eldred & Devan Warika, beginning at 7 p.m., with no cover charge.
“What we would like to do is, say, like a Madison’s 30th anniversary series,” Madison said this week. “Like entertainment, bands throughout the year.”
He added, “We also might do something outside, like the parking lot party we held last year.”
That event “was really big,” he said. “So, we’ll do a couple parking lot parties over the summer through the fall. We are going to celebrate this throughout the year.”
Michael and his brother and co-owner, Mel Madison, also expect to schedule something to wrap up the anniversary year in November or December.
“Last year we tried out our parking lot party, and it was a huge success,” Mel said. “We want to focus on a parking lot series, and we really want to get moving on that to get [performers] we want.”
The brothers said that at least once a month they hope to bring a 30th anniversary event through 2026.
Early brews returning
“The first beer we ever made here was Crowtown Pale Ale,” Michael said, “so we are going to have that available for Friday night.
In 1996, he said, “I believe we started out with five or six. Now we have 13. And we have a few on right now that are original.”
Those include Crowtown Pale Ale, Sucker Pond Blonde and Old 76 Strong Ale.
“And then we’ll be throwing some in from the 1990s when we first opened throughout this year,” he said.
Referring to the Friday event, Michael said, “You know, we are going to put our Crowtown Pale on tap, and we are going to go back to 1996 pricing for that beer for the day. I think it is about three dollars … And then we will have some specials for the night.”
Sense of pride
“There is a sense of pride of being a restaurant open for 30 years, knowing that it is a high-failure industry,” Mel said. “A lot of businesses don’t last more that a couple years. But we are, I think, the longest lasting existing restaurant [in Bennington] with the same owner, with the exception of Your Belly’s Deli and Jeff Magnifico.
“To be able to be successful over 30 years, it is quite the undertaking,” Mel said. “It took a lot of hard work and a good staff. We don’t grind as hard as we used to – we’re older – it takes a physical toll over time.”
Madison’s was also one of the first small brewing operations that sprouted around Vermont in the 1990s.
Family members became interested in learning how to brew, including the science of it, having read such authors as Greg Noonan, a pioneer in homebrewing methodology and co-founder of one of the first brewpubs in New England.
The Madisons also attended demonstrations or toured breweries around the region, such as at Brown’s Brewing in Troy, N.Y., and Long Trail and Magic Hat in Vermont.
During the 1990s, micro breweries and brew pubs quickly became a hot concept, Mel said, spurring a 1994 article in Entrepreneur Magazine, which lauded the current business prospects for small brewing enterprises.
Established after fire
“We bought the building in 1995,” Michael Madison said. “That was the year of construction, and then we opened on February 14 of 1996.”
He and his brother operate the business, while noting their debt to the hard work of employees, many of whom have worked there for years.
“A big part of this business is our staff, and of course our loyal customers who have been here for years,” Michael said. “We have staff – I think our longest two are at 22 years and 23 years, and we’ve got a bunch over 10. A lot of them have worked since high school and are still here. So our employees are a big part of it. We are like a big family here.”
The building was the site of the former Adams Clothing Store, which had been gutted in a May 1990 fire that a Banner headline said left residents standing on Main Street appearing stunned.
This was not long before another devastating Main Street fire, which leveled the Harte Theatre at 481 Main Street in 1991. The two blazes left downtown Bennington demoralized with two blackened commercial properties.
Madison’s brew pub was one of the new businesses that emerged to fill a key downtown space.
Family business
My brother Mark and I, we worked at the Equinox Hotel Resort before we started here,” Michael said. “My parents [Michael and the late Marilyn “Mickey” Madison] owned Tastee-Freeze for 40 something years. It was a big family thing to start.”
He added, “It started out my brother Mark [who later left the business] was the brewer; me and Mel worked out in the front. And then we have had to learn a lot of things throughout the years, and the changes.
“Both my parents were here helping out,” he said. “They are the main reason – without them, we would not be here … My mother passed away three and a half years ago. She did all the deserts. She did all the baking.”
Michael said he also met his wife, Betsy, at Madison’s.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.benningtonbanner.com ’
