FRANKLINTON, N.C. — For 20 years, Jim Kelly was an avid home brewer who dreamed about having a brick-and-mortar spot.

When life took a shift during the pandemic, he decided to take the leap and open a brewery.

Franklin County grew by 13% in the last decade 

Brewery Owner Jim Kelley said the future growth made him choose Franklinton instead of a larger city or town

Kelley said buses come from Raleigh, bringing people to explore the town for the day 

Now with his son, daughter Chloe, and business partner, Kelley runs Owl’s Roost Brewing.

Instead of opening it in Wake Forest where he lives, they decided on Franklinton.

Kelley said they wanted to invest in the revitalization of a “Main Street U.S.A.” town, and look to the future of growth in the Triangle.

“With Google coming in, Apple coming in, and the explosion, and right now Wake Forest is full. Youngsville is full,” Kelley said. “They’re busting at the seams, and people have to have a place to live."

Since they opened in August of last year, Kelley said being a part of the community was a main priority.

“Very important was acceptance by the community and the people. They’ve been waiting years to see this come back to life,” Kelley said.

Owl’s Roost operates out of what once was a movie theater on Main Street.

The brewery is part of a larger picture of growth in Franklinton.

The 2020 census showed Franklin County grew by 13%. It’s more modest than Wake County’s 25%, but there are no cities like Raleigh in Franklin County, where the focus is on small towns and main streets.

Kelley said in those short months, they’ve seen how people are embracing the town. Buses come up from North Hills in Raleigh, bringing people to see the brewery and town for the day.

He hopes that seeing his success will inspire other small business owners to look out of the larger cities to the potential in Franklin County.

“It’s very important for them to see that the people will support local businesses, and that they’ll come out and rally behind those individuals that take the risk, to put the investment, to build whatever stores, restaurants, whatever it might be," Kelley said. “The community’s going to support them.”