Our Story
The Journey Begins...
Drinking Horn founders Kelly and Evan were planning for their wedding in early 2015, and Evan wanted to make a special beverage to accompany their special day. A friend of theirs had mentioned that the word honeymoon originated from mead and since Evans family has always been beekeepers the idea of fermented honey was greatly intriguing. He made up 30 gallons of mead in 5 different flavors (including a few flavors that are still enjoyed to this day) and the wedding party managed to drink all of the mead, and barely touched the beer. Evan had been looking for a change in career from being a fish biologist, and the excitement of their combined family for this “new” beverage provided the encouragement they needed to start the endeavor of Drinking Horn.
Smooth Sailing
Kelly and Evan began renting what at the time seemed like an overly large warehouse. They outfitted it for fermenting and worked on securing the licensing needed to operate. The original idea was to make mead and only sell it wholesale, no taproom, no online, just making mead and selling it to stores to carry. Six months into being open they had an amazing opportunity when the production crew for Guy Fieri’s “Guys Family Road Trip” reached out to them and expressed interest for us being on Season 1 Episode 1.
They had heard about us from renowned chef John Conley, the owner of Fat Olives and Salsa Brava, two of Flagstaff’s favorite restaurants. During the filming, Guy said that Drinking Horn would need to be ready when the episode aired. He suggested a taproom as well as a way to sell online. They quickly retrofitted the front office into a small taproom but had no idea the support they would soon see from the Flagstaff community.
About that time, Drinking Horn had a website designed that could accommodate selling mead straight to people’s doorsteps in over 30 states. After the episode aired and people in the community discovered Drinking Horn the taproom quickly became a hot spot for people looking to enjoy something different from their usual beverage. The wholesale portion of the business took off quickly as well with Drinking Horn selling into Wholefoods within a month of the episode airing on tv.
Land Ho!
Drinking Horn quickly realized that the micro taproom was not enough to accommodate the number of people wanting to enjoy some tasty mead. They made plans to open in April 2020 having no idea what 2020 would bring. The next two years were a continuous series of business pivots to help the business grow and keep the employees safe and happy. As 2020 is further behind we hope that you will come and try our mead at the mead hall. New to town and want to meet some fine folks? Come to the Mead Hall. Need a wedding venue? Come to the Mead Hall. Looking for both intriguing and silly conversations? Come to the Mead Hall. Want to play board games with friends or learn a new skill? Come to the Mead Hall. We hope to see you soon and we raise a horn of mead to you, skol!
What's next?
Visit us at The Mead Hall and help us write the next chapter in the story!
MEAD HALL
DOWNTOWN FLAGSTAFF
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