Megan McKay – Peace Tree Brewing

Explicit content warning

11/16/18 • 27 min

At the height of the Great Recession in 2009, Megan McKay decided to build a brewery in the small Iowa town of Knoxville on the edge of Greater Des Moines (DSM). Peace Tree Brewing Company has since expanded to the Historic East Village in Downtown DSM and Grinnell. The business now employs 14 full time and 35 part time employees.

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Marry My City

Your loved one is getting married and you’re trying to find them the perfect gift. After you procrastinate too long to make that memorable keepsake, you decide to check out their registry only to find it limited to items found in big box retailers. You print the list of stuff and see the items that remain are a Crock-Pot and an oven glove. So, you opt for the safe bet — a gift card.

If only there was another way.

That’s what sprang to Kaitlin Byers’ mind when she went through that cycle several times with friends’ weddings. Frustrated with having to shop at big box stores for wedding registries, Byers teamed up with Tallis Strub to come up with Marry My City— an online platform that allows couples to curate and create their own wedding registry with local experiences rather than stuff. Think cooking classes and date nights at local mansions.