Market
Tenacious, unwavering focus on their goals, and a big heart for community. We’re proud to know multiple people that match that description from our 40 years in business, but the subject of this story also happens to brew a fantastic beer!
We first met Todd Baldwin, founder and owner of Red Leg Brewing Company, due to the proximity of his first brewery to our Colorado Springs office. Riding the first economic uptick of the post 2008 recession, Todd opened Red Leg on July 4, 2013, and they celebrated their 10-year anniversary this year.
Todd’s focus on unique micro-beers paired with his affection for veterans, and their unique culture, launched Red Leg into a booming business. However, as Ray Nunn knows quite intimately, it’s not easy to be an entrepreneur and to turn a dream into a reality. As a new business owner, Todd was unfamiliar with the regulations and how to start a new business in Colorado Springs. He was a familiar face at City Hall, and then Mayor John Suthers advocated for him and other small business owners. Suthers fought for transparency, clarity of processes and regulations, and assistance for small businesses as they launched themselves into the Colorado Springs marketplace.
“Our community is maintained by small businesses,” Todd told the Colorado Springs Indy in 2021. “Here, the money stays in the community. This facility is our commitment to Colorado Springs.”
After roughly 6 years of business, the busy Red Leg faced the need to expand. They were quickly outgrowing their seating capacity, and meeting demand with their current brewing equipment became difficult. While Todd’s veteran connections opened the door to increased distribution opportunities for military installations, he knew that he could not achieve that in his current space.
In 2019, plans for a new expanded brewing facility were in the works; however, this new brewery would not just focus on expanded manufacturing and distribution. Todd wished to create a space for the community to gather and for other small businesses to thrive. He knew how hard it was to expand reach and opportunity and wanted to collaborate with others, especially local food-based businesses, at Red Leg Brewing’s new facility.
Harnessing his ardent desire to help other entrepreneurs and small businesses, Todd made it his mission to incorporate such spaces in Red Leg’s new 4,000-square-foot facility that Nunn helped build. Seeking to give these businesses a leg up, Red Leg Brewing incorporates vending stalls that give a nod in their design to the impromptu community environments that military deployments overseas can create. These stalls provide customers with a variety of food options to choose from while also allowing vendors a space to reach new customers.
With Todd’s mission of supporting small business and his community, Red Leg has not only thrived in their new Garden of the Gods location but also provides a place for small businesses to grow as well. Places like Red Leg Brewing and resolute people like Todd help to make Colorado Springs a better place to work, live, and buy—and that helps us all!
Red Leg Brewing Company’s 2023 Brewery Partner Award, recently awarded to Nunn Construction
