State money bringing upgrades to Penguin City Brewing Company

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) – A downtown Youngstown brewery is one of many to receive the benefits of House Bill 2, which was signed by Governor Mike DeWine on Friday.

Penguin City Brewing Company is getting $700,000 of the $4.2 billion.

The money is going toward its Upgrade Project, which will add a restroom, pave the back parking lot and make things more ADA-accessible.

“A septic issue that we need to fix, the parking lot needs paved so we can have handicap accessibility. We were only able to pave the first half, we have to pave the back half. We want to put bathrooms in the back as well, you know, for handicap accessibility. It’s really hard so we want to improve those things,” said co-owner Aspasia Lyras-Bernacki.

The money will also go toward growing the brewery’s manufacturing and distribution, which will, in turn, create more jobs and support the local economy.

Many organizations in Mahoning, Columbiana and Trumbull counties are getting a share of House Bill 2. You can see the full list here .

Lyras-Bernacki was also elected to the Ohio Craft Brewers Association on Wednesday. She’s the first local brewery owner to join the board, and it’s a position Aspasia was nominated and interviewed for.

She says it’s a big honor as breweries are more than just watering holes, helping create jobs, revitalize areas and boost economies.

“It’s very huge, and I think it’s definitely good to promote that, talk about it and get people interested in it, and I’m just excited that I can be part of that on a larger scale,” Lyras-Bernacki said.

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