A business is more than the money it makes. It is a social institution.
Sitting down for a pint at Ebony & Ivory Brewing, you find yourself in a comfortable atmosphere in a very new space, indulging in some delicious brew. And let’s face it, it is a good, classy name for a business. Owners Chico Dupas and Mitchell Russell began as a professor and student at Carson-Newman. The story goes that Professor Dupas took Russell out for beers at Aubrey’s to celebrate the latter’s graduation, and the two soon came to the topic of brewing.
“Chico asked, ‘Do you know how beer is made?’” recalls Russell. “And I said, ‘Yeah, dude, I’ve been brewing all through college.’”
“We were spending a lot of money at these breweries,” says Dupas, “and we said, ‘Hey, how about we just brew our own beer? Take a stab at it, and maybe we can save some money.’”
Now the tables were turned, and Russell became the teacher. Together the pair made their first homebrew in January of 2018, and from there they continued to experiment, ultimately crafting a honey ale that became a huge hit in the community. The positive response and encouragement inspired the two to make brewing more than just a hobby, and after years of honing their craft and hunting for capital (a difficult task during the pandemic), they at last opened the doors of Ebony & Ivory Brewing in 2022.
And the name meant something to them. It is something of a promise, a statement of purpose, for the brewery, as Dupas explains.
“We asked ourselves, ‘How are we going to be any different than the others?’” says Dupas. “And naturally I said we’re going to be different because we’re going to expose a population of people who probably have not typically been invited into the craft beer community, and that’s black and Hispanic folks.”
Every business has its market. Often that market is defined by necessity and demand; a landscaping service, for instance, is likely most aggressively marketed towards homeowners, who have lawns to be cared for. Expanding outside a traditional market is a risky move for a business, especially for a brand new one without a steady customer base to fall back on, but for Dupas and Russell, Ebony & Ivory wouldn’t be what it is without that mission.
“We’re going to have a place where the owners are intentional about inviting different demographics,” says Dupas. “We’re creating a welcoming, inviting environment where people actually want to give it a try and see what it’s like.”
Dupas had friends and family who could help bring some of that diversity to the brewery, he says, but for him, it was more than just who was sitting at the tables. It also mattered who was behind the counter, and what organizations they could be partnered with.
“We seek out different organizations that we know are in the community. We’re very open to different ideas,” says Dupas. “So somebody calls and says, ‘Hey, we want to do a salsa night.’ And we don’t have anyone around here doing something like this, so let’s sit down and talk about it.”
Dupas and Russell have been deliberate in making sure as many demographics are represented on staff as they can, so anyone who comes in the doors can find someone familiar to connect with. The business is young yet, with only two years of operation behind it, and for now Dupas and Russell are still supporting themselves with their ‘day jobs’ as they grow their business, but they’re confident they’re serving an important role in downtown Knoxville.
“We’re not super wealthy people,” says Russell. “We’re just doing it by the bootstraps and trying to do it the right way.”