Civic Dispatch: Thursday Night Trivia — Strengthening Civic Life in Third Spaces

Photo by: The Walker Area Community Foundation

Jean O’Connor-Snyder Intern Raegan Harris explores Jasper, Alabama’s community revitalization through the story of Drew Gilbert, owner of Tallulah Brewing Company. Gilbert’s brewery has become a vital gathering place, fostering connections and strengthening the town’s social fabric.

Drew Gilbert, Alabama native and owner of Tallulah Brewing Company, never planned to open a brewery. As we sit on barstools across from each other, he tells me with an air of relaxed confidence that after graduating from the University of North Alabama he returned to his hometown, Cordova, hoping to become mayor someday.

It is late afternoon, and the brewery is just beginning to fill as Gilbert says “[Cordova] was a city in decline my whole life. So, I always wanted to be a part of fixing that.” Next he adds, “Then we got hit by tornadoes when I was maybe twenty-four, and that accelerated my timeline.”

Gilbert earned a Cordova City Council seat in July of 2011 and served until October 2012, when he was elected mayor at only twenty-five. During his term, and with limited resources, Gilbert facilitated the recovery of Cordova’s decimated downtown.

Since Gilbert married his wife Ashley in 2013, they have had two daughters, Tallulah and Idella.

When Gilbert’s brother-in-law’s home-brewed beers won a streak of awards, Tallulah Brewing Company emerged as a fun idea for the distant future.

After Jasper was designated a Main Street Community, the concept became reality. A self-proclaimed “municipal nerd,” Gilbert says that “because of the success of Main Street, we knew this would work here.” Main Street is an organization focused on community-based revitalization through a four-point approach of economic vitality, design, promotion, and organization. Gilbert says that its success rate and network of support gave him confidence in the future success of Tallulah Brewing Company.

I am spending this summer as a part of the Jean O’Connor-Snyder Internship Program in Walker County, Alabama, with support from the Walker Area Community Foundation and the University of Alabama’s New College. My placement is with Jasper Main Street and focuses on downtown revitalization and economic development. As I sat at Tallulah Brewing Company, losing a game of 90’s music trivia with my fellow summer interns in tragic fashion, I thought about Tallulah’s position as a vibrant third place in Jasper.

On a typical Thursday night, Tallulah is alive with the carefree laughter of Jasper residents mingling at the end of a long day. Adults sip and chat while children play games on the patio. Dogs catch scraps from tables while dedicated competitors test their knowledge over $5 hotdogs and fries. Local social media celebrity, Matt Mitchell, cracks jokes at the trivia counter between calling out correct answers. He receives a chorus of impassioned groans or cheers in response.

There, everyone–not just craft beer drinkers or trivia aficionados–is welcome.

Ray Oldenburg, sociologist and author of The Great Good Place, defines third places as accessible spaces other than the home and workplace where people can gather and connect.

Whether it be a coffee shop or a public park, they are vital to the social fabric of a city or town.

Oldenburg refers to them as “the grassroots of democracy.”

Mike Putman, director of Jasper Main Street, knows the impact of third spaces in Jasper well. Ten years ago, he says downtown was “a ghost town.” Since then, it has experienced a revival.

Tallulah is a perfect example of the businesses who have made this revitalization possible. Putman calls Tallulah Brewing Company a “hub for social activity” and says that places like that are important to his position because “you can’t sustain a cause, a project, an organization, without relationships.”

Asked about the importance of gathering spaces, Gilbert passionately says that without them, “all of it falls apart.”

As mayor of Cordova, Gilbert focused on positively impacting as many people as he could. He says that every time he made a decision in his leadership role, that was his “litmus test.” Since then, Gilbert has re-directed his service to the nonprofit world. He serves on the Grant Review Team for the Walker Area Community Foundation, the board of Your Town Alabama, and the board of Jasper Main Street.

Beyond his service to local nonprofits, however, Gilbert and the team at Tallulah Brewing have positively impacted the City of Jasper through creating a family-friendly environment where all people can relax, drink a beer (or coke), and connect.

When asked about the next step for Tallulah, Gilbert says it is communicating that the Brewing Company is a place for the whole family. He explains: “Our kids are here all the time. Other people’s kids are here. We literally have a fence around the whole patio so that you can stress free have your kids out there. That’s our next chapter, [] really telling that story better.” He added that “Main Street helps you get there because Main Street has built this thriving family-friendly community.”

Towards the end of our interview, Gilbert makes the statement: “If you don’t place emphasis on these gathering spaces–places to eat, drink, and be merry, and you know, play a trivia game or a bingo game and just kind of unplug from the realities of life, your community is not going to make it. It’s just not going to make it.”

My fellow interns and I have thoroughly enjoyed experiencing Jasper and all of its assets, including Tallulah Brewing Company. I am grateful to Gilbert for allowing me to interview him and learn from the wisdom gained through his political, civic, and business leadership.

Raegan Harris is a junior at the University of Alabama from Tuscaloosa, Alabama. She is pursuing an interdisciplinary major with a depth study in urban planning and community development through the New College Program, with a minor in public policy.

Raegan’s internship is with Jasper Main Street where she is focused on downtown revitalization and economic development.

Raegan is the Vice President of New College Ambassadors and is the Community Coordinator of UA Vote Everywhere. She was also a mentor for Crimson Scholars and will be interning with the Crossroads Civic Engagement Center this fall.

Photo by: The Walker Area Community Foundation

Summer 2024 JOIP Interns. This internship program is made possible through our collaboration with the University of Alabama’s New College and the Walker Area Community Foundation.