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The Story of 111 W. Locust Avenue, El Dorado, Kansas
Oh, if these walls could talk!
The history of the building that now houses Walnut River Brewing Company dates back to the end of World War I. Sometime between 1917 and 1920, the first brick was laid at our location.
A two-story building went up, ostensibly, to be the home of People’s Supply Company, however, the business occupied only the lower floor.
Just up the stairs from where the citizens of El Dorado carefully selected the goods they needed at home, a more sordid tale was being spun. Beginning in 1923, the second-story of our building was home to “Goldie’s Brothel.”
Consistent with the times, local law enforcement was more concerned with shutting down gambling and drinking during prohibition than just about anything else, so they left Goldie alone.
Over the years, several other businesses operated on the lower level. In 1927, Wm. Graham & Son Grocery moved in and in 1935 Mrs. Marie Troxell Creamery opened for business, but from the building’s opening until about World War II, Goldie occupied the upstairs.
In 1946, S&H Bakery moved in and stayed for about a decade. Starting in 1955, International Harvester used the building for storage, as did O’Neil Equipment Company from 1958 until 1963 when Century Plastics moved in.
In the early 2000s, Rick Goehring, acting on a dream, purchased the building with the vision of someday opening a brewery in the space. After several years of sitting vacant, the building had fallen into significant disrepair. Goehring and his wife made the bold decision to move into the building and live there while Rick completely renovated it. Patience and persistence paid great dividends, because when Rick was introduced to B.J. Hunt, who was also wanting to open a brewery, it was a moment of serendipity.
Walnut River Brewing Company began operations in July 2013 in a small room in the back of the building while a flea market operated in the front. While wives shopped for pink yard flamingos, the men often times went in the back to drink the beer. Eventually, as the brewery grew in popularity, so did the need for additional space. After a brief time, the brewing operation took over the entire building and operates as it does today.
Rick Goehring – Head Brewer
Rick’s first career was in corporate I.T. after receiving a college education in engineering, chemistry and physics. However, that work still left him unfulfilled. Rick’s true passion is making great beer and sharing it with others. After nearly 20 years of accomplished homebrewing, including winning numerous local and national homebrew competitions, Rick made the jump.
At his wife’s “aggressive suggestion” Rick, started the process of opening a brewery. His first step was to complete the Craftbrewer’s Apprenticeship Program sanctioned by the American Brewers Guild. The 6-month program taught him the science and engineering that goes into producing top-notch beers and running a craft brewery. At the completion of the 6-month course, Rick did a month-long internship at a working brewery where he received hands-on experience with professional equipment.
After the internship, Rick found himself involved in setting up an exceptional brewery, but it was working for someone else. He still wanted his own.
After gaining the critical knowledge of how a brewery should operate, Rick then took business classes at a local college to learn how to develop a sound business plan. This was vital because it gave him a practical understanding of the operational and business side of a brewery before he sought partners.
The mission of this long and difficult process was to convince himself this was a good idea before trying to convince others of the same.
Mission accomplished.
Rick and his wife Laura live in El Dorado and have two children.
B.J. Hunt – Business Operations
Like Rick Goehring, brewing was not the first career for B.J. Hunt. After completing grad school with an Executive MBA, B.J. spent 18 years as the director and then president of a family-owned company. Entrepreneurship runs in his blood.
B.J. enjoys the challenges and has the skills to conduct business with the regulatory agencies that are responsible for supervision of the brewing industry. He also brings extensive marketing, customer relations and sales experience to Walnut River Brewing Company.
He has been a successful fundraiser, and most importantly, is passionate about business and beer.
He was honored by the Wichita Business Journal in it’s annual 40 Under 40 awards and his broad business aptitude serves the brewery well.
B.J and his wife Leslie live in Wichita along with their two children.
The Plan Is Hatched
The conception of the brewery traces back to 2010, a full three years before the first beer was poured. B.J. approached one of his beer loving friends, Jeremy Johnson, with an idea. B.J. believed there should be a brewery in the Delano District of Wichita. Jeremy suggested he meet Rick, whom he had previously met at various beer gatherings.
After an initial conversation, B.J. and Rick met to discuss details and sample some beer. B.J. was wowed by how good Rick’s beer was and things kicked into high gear.
The initial question was where to open. B.J. held on to his hope for Delano while Rick lobbied for his hometown of El Dorado. After serious consideration of logistics, access to quality water and a number of other details, El Dorado was chosen to be the home of the Walnut River Brewing Company.
Travis Rohrberg – Quality Control, Packaging and Logistics
About 8 months after the brewery’s birth, Travis joined as a partner in Walnut River. With a degree in microbiology, extensive experience in the ethanol and pharmaceutical industries, and plenty of time as a homebrewer, Travis made the jump to professional brewing as well.
Before the brewery officially opened, he randomly, out of the blue hit up Rick and BJ on Facebook to offer help in getting the building ready to open. Being a fledgling business, the offer for free labor was accepted. In addition to helping paint and do other tasks, Travis helped brew some beer.
After early conversations, Travis initially purchased a minority ownership stake and eventually became a full partner in the company.
In a building full of guys with a fairly sophomoric sense of humor, Travis is typically the adult in the room. He’s lovingly earned the nickname “Dad.”
Travis and his wife Tessa live in Andover with their two young sons.
Statewide Distribution
The initial plan was to slowly work into distribution, but the equipment needed to be paid for, so large scale distribution it was. The first market to distribute our beer was Wichita. House of Schwan was the first distributor to show interest in partnering with us and it has been one of the more significant relationships the company has ever forged. Not only were they among the first, they’ve become trusted and loyal partners. We can safely say we wouldn’t still be around were it not for them.
Then one-by-one, more distributors started to carry our beers and get them out into the market. Flint Hills Distributing in Osage City was next, that was followed by City Beverage in Hutchinson.
In the early days, things were tense and funds were a bit tight, but as is often the case with small businesses, one day, the fortunes all changed.
We heard from the Kansas Craft Alliance, a group that handles beer distribution all across the state. That proved to be the turning point. They helped us expend to all outposts across Kansas. From larger markets like Overland Park, Hays and Dodge City, to smaller locations like Colby, Coffeyville and Beloit, the Kansas Craft Alliance got out the word about Walnut River Brewing Company and in that moment, we were here to stay.
The Depot
One of the very first discussions about opening a brewery was whether to open a restaurant as well. Rick’s desire was for a full service eatery. Sounds simple, right? Well, it was anything but.
Before The PourHouse actually came to be, we looked at nearly 50 different locations. In the time to find and settle on our current facility, our realtor gave birth to TWO children!
Finally in late 2018, after 6 months of renovation, including clearing out of old equipment from the restaurant that had previously occupied the space, hand building all the tables and giving it the same wood-grain authenticity as found at the El Dorado taproom, The PourHouse opened for business.
In 2024, Walnut River Brewing partnered with Ziggy’s Pizza to launch a new concept called “The Depot.” It was delicious Ziggy’s food with tasty Walnut River brews. What’s not to love?
With a full menu and an excellent selection of Walnut River beers, The Depot has become a favorite destination for both the after work crowd in Downtown Wichita as well as couples and families wanting a cozy dining experience.
The Rest of the Team
Shawn Brewer
Shawn is our resident bad ass. He served our country as a United States Marine as well as a federal law enforcement official. Upon retiring from public service, he came to work at the brewery.
He does a little bit of everything around here. In addition to canning, kegging, and putting together orders, if you see our delivery truck out on the road, there’s about a 99% chance Shawn is behind the wheel.
He does so much and does it so well, if he weren’t with us, the place just might fall apart. We don’t mess with him because we can’t afford to lose him and, ya know, because he knows how to kill us!
Shawn lives in El Dorado with his wife Amy and they have 5 grown children.
Ben Wheeler
Ben is the newest member of our team, bringing his love for graphic development and storytelling from a twenty-year career in Youth Ministry to the Brewing World as our Director of Marketing. How about that for a switch!
Ben handles all of our marketing, promotion, graphic design, sales sheets, website, social media, media releases, etc. Basically, if it relates to telling the story of Walnut River Brewing or promoting the brand, he’s our guy! You’ll find Ben either in the Taproom or around Wichita and probably behind a laptop. If you see him, say hi! He just might buy you a beer!
Ben and his wife, Lacey, live in Rose Hill with their son.
Ben Lamb
Ben Lamb is our Taproom manager. He and his team are excited to welcome you to our Taproom and ready to fill a pint for you!
More info to come!