Earlier this month, Railway City announced it has signed an agreement to return the brewery to local ownership.
This marks the beginning of a new chapter focused on celebrating its roots, investing in its future and strengthening its connection to the community.
The new ownership group includes founder Paul Corriveau and the current Railway City Brewing team: Darin Tucker and Jeremy Tokarcyzk, as well as Bryan White and Becky White.
Entertainment Arts Research Inc., a U.S. diversified beverage and media group, put in an offer to acquire Railway City Brewing in 2022. That fell through, and instead the brewery was acquired by SymBev, a Toronto-based adult beverage company founded in 2021 that also picked up the beer brands CRANK Lite Lager of Oakville and Locker Room Lager out of Toronto.
However, as Corriveau explained, the relationship with SymBev put financial strain on Railway City’s operations.
“SymBev wasn’t able to raise additional funds to acquire additional small beverage producers. And the economies of scale weren’t there, and Railway City was taking on the burden of supporting SymBev and Locker Room and Crank, the other two breweries that they brought, which then became brands of Railway City.
“They weren’t strong enough brands for us and with limited support for marketing. It was all coming out of Railway City.”
Corriveau continued, “Realistically, we’re a local brewery, and we lost our way because obviously you become a conglomerate. Everyone’s viewpoint was, ‘Oh, they sold. They’re no longer local.’ And it impacted us.”
Railway City Brewing was founded in 2008, among the early class of craft brewers in Ontario.
Corriveau added the return to local ownership should be completed by next month, at the latest.
“So now we’re just waiting to actually have the transfer of funds. So hopefully that’ll be done, if not at the end of August, definitely early September. The actual official transfer. But SymBev hasn’t been involved in day-to-day operations since March.”
The goal, according to Corriveau, is to bring back some of Railway City’s popular brands.
“We do have loyal customers that would love to see some of our other brands that we used to do before SymBev. And Double Dead is coming back September 15th. So that’s one that a lot of people look for.
“People ask for Woody Traveller and they ask for Iron Spike, and we’re going to try and fit them into a portfolio of some sort.
He noted that, in addition to reviving past brands, a priority is to “upgrade where we can.”
That includes the launch of a gluten-free and non-alcoholic brand, likely by October.
To celebrate the return to local ownership, is hosting a Back on Track Relaunch Celebration today (Aug. 22), starting at 11 a.m.
“Railway City has been part of the fabric of St. Thomas for nearly two decades. We’re proud to be part of its next chapter. This brewery has a remarkable history, a great team, and a loyal community behind it.”
“We are launching a new beer on Saturday, Back on Track. It’s a delicious golden ale. We have never done a golden ale. We’ve done a blonde ale before, and this is quite the nice recipe.
“Our brewers put their heads together and came up with a really, really solid recipe. We encourage everyone to come out on Saturday. It’s open house. We’re giving free tours every half hour.”
Bryan White of the ownership team added, “Railway City has been part of the fabric of St. Thomas for nearly two decades. We’re proud to be part of its next chapter. This brewery has a remarkable history, a great team, and a loyal community behind it.
“We’re excited to build on that foundation and help ensure Railway City Brewing remains an important part of the St. Thomas community for years to come.”
ST. THOMAS CERTIFIED CANDIDATES
The nomination period for the 2026 municipal election closed at 2 yesterday afternoon (Friday), and there was some last-minute activity.
Corey Janzen declared his intention to run for mayor of St. Thomas. He joins Coun. Jeff Kohler and Aidan Frederick.
Sandra Hamill filed her papers Friday and two familiar individuals declared their intention this week.
Former councillor and mayor, Heather Jackson is bidding to return to city hall, after an unsuccessful mayoral run in 2022. She also sought a third term as mayor in 2018, but finished second to Joe Preston.
Jackson also finished third as the Liberal candidate in the 2022 provincial election, won by Rob Flack.
Malachi Male is taking another shot at a council seat after withdrawing from the 2018 mayoral race.
And he finished a distant last in the 2022 provincial vote.
Brian May withdrew his nomination papers this week, and so there are now 19 individuals vying for eight seats on city council.
Here is the full list of the certified council candidates:
Mayor:
Frederick, Aidan
Janzen, Corey
Kohler, Jeff
Councillor (8 elected):
Baldwin-Sands, Lori – incumbent
Brisson Mike
Clarke, Gary – incumbent
Deslandes, Chris
Diobe, Alobwedge Gibbs
Docherty, Joe, Jr.
Gibson, Rose – incumbent
Hamill, Sandra
Herbert, Jim – incumbent
Jackson, Heather
Male, Malichi
Mountenay, Geoff
Ogden, Steve
Rymal, Joan – incumbent
Staddon, Christopher
Taylor, Earl – incumbent
Vaughan, Kay
Wookey, Steve – incumbent
Yates, Kyle
TVDSB TRUSTEE (2 TO BE ELECTED FROM ELGIN COUNTY)
Knott, Melissa
Pate, Bob
LDCSB (1 TO BE ELECTED FROM ELGIN COUNTY)
Huver, Stephen
Intven Wallace, Mary
CENTRAL ELGIN CERTIFIED CANDIDATES
Mayor: Morgaine Griffin, Dennis Crevits,
Deputy Mayor: Meagan Ruddock
Ward 1: Lisa Harrison, Cliff Speers
Ward 2: Connie Jackson, Darryl Roberts, Linda Westaway
Ward 3: Shawn De Neire, Melissa Schneider, Aron West
Ward 4: David Conners, Tom Marks, Leigh Mauer
Ward 5: David Baughman
SOUTHWOLD CERTIFIED CANDIDATES
Mayor: Grant Jones
Deputy Mayor: Justin Pennings
Councillor (3 to be elected): Sarah Bod, Scott Fellows, Mary Moxley, David Nichols, Patrick Pell, Jesse Walker
CANDIDATE PROFILE: JOE DOCHERTY JR., CITY OF ST. THOMAS
We continue with our profiles of the candidates running in the Oct. 26 municipal vote.
This week, we spotlight Joe Docherty Jr., who ran for a seat on council in 2022 and finished 11th in a 16-candidate race with 2,140 votes.
He’s following in the footsteps of his father, Joe Docherty, who last ran for city council in 2010.
We asked him what prompted the decision to come back and say, “Hey, I’m going to give this another shot.”
“It’s something that I love about the city, and it’s something that I want to do. I want to support the city in any way that I can. And I think being on council is the best way for me to do it.”
A case of like father, like son.
“My father is a very passionate person about the City of St. Thomas. His ideas have always been to help with the city’s growth, and I’m pretty well along the same lines as that.”
So, let’s delve into the key issues.
“Well, as in 2022, when I ran, one of the things that I was campaigning on was transparency. I found that there were a lot of people who were out there when I was canvassing who didn’t really know a lot about what was going on. And it didn’t mean the council wasn’t doing anything to highlight what their achievements were or what was going on in the day-to-day operations of council.
“People just didn’t know what was going on. So, continuing in that line, I want to make sure that people are aware of what’s going on with council. For the last year, I’ve been in the gallery at the majority of the council meetings. If I’m not in the gallery, then I’m on virtually.
“Wanting to keep my ear to the ground, if you will, as to what’s going on. And when I’ve talked to people in the community, when they’ve talked about what the issues are, I try to say, well, this is what they’re doing.
“I want to make sure that the transparency is still there. I think in the last four years, council has also been active with growth. And it’s because the city has invested time to entice businesses to come to St. Thomas. I believe that it’s imperative that we continue with that development. It’s something that the city needs.
“I feel that if we were to take a pause on that, if someone were to come in and say, well, we better hold off on that, I think there’s going to be other communities throughout southwestern Ontario that will put their hand up and say, ‘Hey, come see us. We’re not going to stop.’
“We’ve got to keep it going. I’d say, let’s use the term ‘on track’ because of St. Thomas, but I think we need to maintain that.
“You have to invest in the future of infrastructure, whether it’s talking about the sewage, the water treatment, roads, public services, transportation. You have to deal with it now, but you have to deal with it now by planning for the future.”
“The other thing I’m really impressed with so far is how St. Thomas has been tackling the homelessness issue. Being in St. Thomas for, I think it’s 20 years now, there’s been a definite change in how St. Thomas is dealing with homelessness, to the point where other communities are looking to St. Thomas as a template on how to deal with homelessness.
“The St. Thomas Police Service has a satellite office in downtown St. Thomas. I believe they have 10 community officers. They have two CMHA individuals plus a nurse who are out there in the community.
“They also have a community officer who is proactive in the community going around and seeing where the needs are for certain things and then trying to implement it before it becomes an issue.
“I think St. Thomas is taking an approach of trying to tackle it from all angles.
“I know that the police are always taxed with having to deal with incidents throughout the city. And these programs that are in effect now have essentially removed the responsibility of the police onto those people who can best serve the people who are needing the help.”
Continuing with policing, Docherty says it is important to focus on areas like bail violation and intimate partner violence.
“I think that when you have the police dealing with those things, and we have other groups helping out with mental health and homelessness, it allows the police to do the job that they’re there to do.”
Docherty stressed the city has to be prepared for the increase in population that is imminent.
‘We have to make sure that we have the housing for everyone who comes, the services available for everyone. And we have to make sure that when the tax base is increased, the money that’s brought in is for the community.
‘The industries that are coming in, they’re going to be generating a lot of tax revenue. It has to be up to council to make sure that it goes to where it’s supposed to. And I think ideally the first thing is to the people in the community, those people on a fixed income.
“The average cost of a place to rent right now is much higher than what someone is making through a disability pension or CPP. So they have to be cognizant of what the needs are.”
And then there is the infrastructure deficit, reminded Docherty.
“You have to invest in the future of infrastructure, whether it’s talking about the sewage, the water treatment, roads, public services, transportation. You have to deal with it now, but you have to deal with it now by planning for the future.”
He has brought together his campaign team from 2022 and door-knocking will be part of the overall strategy.
“I’ll be on social media a lot as well. In 2022, I had a presence on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. I was trying to make sure that all generations had access to me.
“Getting out there and going to the communities where young people frequent, staying public, not relying on just doing door-to-door, but being out there with social media, any type of format that gets you out there in front of them.
“And they need to realize, because I’m no longer a youth myself, they need to realize that what we’re dealing with now is going to affect them down the road. So it’s really important for the youth to make their thoughts known so the people who are running know what it is that they are after.”
Docherty has always been active in the community.
“But as a council member, I will make sure that those who are responsible and need to be held accountable, they are the people to talk to.”
He is on the Municipal Accessibility Committee at city hall, and has been involved with the CASO station, the North America Railway Hall of Fame, the Elgin County Railway Museum and Crimestoppers.
“I’m part of the Railway City Music and Arts Festival. I’m a director in a charity called Railway City Angel Gowns, an organization that prepares burial gowns for premature babies and young children.
“And I’m part of the St. Thomas slow-pitch community. I’m an advisor for the league now. I was the president for about seven years.”
Docherty concluded, “I want people in St. Thomas to know what’s going on. And if they have questions- and this is something that I said in 2022 as well – if someone has a question about something that’s going on in the city, they can come to me. I will try to get them the answer.
“They may not like the answer, but at least they’ll have the answer. You don’t want to be an obstacle or a hurdle for people if the answer is there. You just have to find it for them.”
“And also remember that the municipal government can only do so much. The federal government, provincial government, they do things. The municipal government is the boots on the ground. They’re the ones that are in the face of the people all the time.
“And a lot of the time they get the brunt of the negativity, but a lot of the time it’s not them. But as a council member, I will make sure that those who are responsible and need to be held accountable, they are the people to talk to.”
In a nutshell, Docherty says it is all about “maintaining transparency, keeping the heritage of St. Thomas visible, but planning for the future.”
FOR THE CALENDAR
A new Highway 3 corridor may be in the works to improve connectivity between St. Thomas and Aylmer.
The Ontario Ministry of Transportation has retained Stantec Consulting Ltd. to undertake a Planning, Preliminary Design, and Class Environmental Assessment.
The first of three public information sessions will be held on Aug. 26 , from 4 to 7 p.m. at the East Elgin Community Complex – Blueline Room, 531 Talbot Street West in Aylmer.
More information can be found here.
THE ECHO CHAMBER
Lynn Aylsworth submitted several key questions that we will look into.
“Are any of the city candidates or Central Elgin candidates talking about Hwy. 4? It is already becoming a nightmare from Elm Street to Port Stanley!
“If the psychiatric hospital lands are ever developed, and more housing in Shaw Valley and Port Stanley, won’t this highway have more than reached capacity?
“When I approached the county engineer about this, I was told it has not reached a volume where actions need to be taken.
“Shouldn’t this be addressed ahead of further development, as they are doing with Highway 3?”
As expected, last week’s item on the Imagination Station art installation at Yarmouth Yards industrial park generated feedback. Here are a couple of samples.
Douglas Ross posted on Facebook that the location is all wrong.
“It’s a great work of art for in front of a day nursery. Sorry, but it’s not the place it should be.”
And Kevin Smith wants to know the price tag?
“How much is this costing taxpayers? That’s my question. No one seems to know. Why all the secrecy?
Questions and comments may be emailed to City Scope
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And a reminder, I can be heard weekday afternoons as news anchor and reporter on 94.1 myFM in St. Thomas. As always, your comments and input are appreciated.
