Brewing is behind plenty of comeback stories in cities and rural areas across the U.S. When Neil Gurnsey grabs a drink at his favorite bar, he?s delighted when nobody knows his name.
Gurnsey loves to see his new watering hole, the taproom at Hand of Fate Brewing, packed with people from outside Petersburg, Illinois, a small bedroom community of roughly 2,200 near the capital, Springfield. Started last May by Mike Allison, a former funeral director who turned his homebrewing hobby into a thriving small business in his hometown, Hand of Fate took its name from the town?s origin story (during a card game between two early settlers, Peter Lukins and George Warburton, Warburton drew the losing hand).
After just a year, the small brewery has brought good fortune to the town. After taking over an old Dollar General discount store in the sparsely occupied town square, the brewery-and-taproom has become a community hub and a catalyst keeping businesses open later. It?s encouraged others?including two new boutiques?to open shop, and drawn visitors from across the region. This year?s ?Drinkin? with Lincoln? street festival was a big hit. ?Once Mike got the brewery going,? says Gurnsey, an assistant vice president at the National Bank of Petersburg, ?life was just injected into the square. If I go inside the bar and see that I know just 10 people out of 100, that?s great.?

Hand of Fate Brewing
Hand of Fate Brewing in downtown Petersburg, Illinois.

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