Bissell Brothers serves up the magic elixir for the music crowds at Thompson’s Point

BY Jason Singer & Pete Lyons 

When Noah and Peter Bissell sought a loan in the early 2010s to turn Noah’s home-brewing passion into a business, the bank turned them down, so they raised half their initial stake from private sources and in 2013 moved into the space on Industrial Way previously occupied by Maine Beer Company. The Bissells gave bartenders and servers around Portland free T-shirts with their now-iconic logo, as well as the occasional tasting to drum up excitement. 

“We realized we were part of this sea change of people turning industrial compounds into places to visit and drink and eat,” Peter Bissell says. “We made an effort to secure a food truck every day we were open.”

But with production growing by 200-plus percent per year, “We said, ‘We can’t settle in here. There’s no space to grow.’”Developers for Thompson’s Point—still only vacant buildings and a dream—showed them an 112-year-old hub of the Maine Central Railroad Company. It was dilapidated. It had dirt floors. Noah and Peter took a chance on the space anyway, and 15 months later opened in their current location.

Read the full story in the digital magazine above.