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Business is Brewing in Mansfield, PA: New Brewpub Opens on Main Street with Help from BOB

Back in 1861, the Ralph York family of Bungy, Pennsylvania (a village near neighboring Mansfield, Tioga County) had to shorten its dairy farm name because of a local, quirky law that restricted the use of too many letters. A century and a half later, instead of being known for producing milk, the name “Yorkholo” (pronounced "York hollow") will now be synonymous with another kind of beverage as it carries on in the recent establishment of The Yorkholo Brewing Company in downtown Mansfield.

The three-barrel brewpub, co-owned by Mansfield natives Jarrod York and Ashley Rodgers, celebrated its grand opening earlier this month in this college town of 3,200 in north central Pennsylvania. York’s business philosophy is simple: keep business local. Yorkholo Brewery will feature light lagers and hearty ales, and the restaurant will serve lunch and dinner fare, with emphasis on using locally grown ingredients that change seasonally. They also plan to offer Pennsylvania wines.

York, an avid home brewer, got down to the real business of brewing after attending the American Brewers Guild and completing an internship at the Ithaca Brewing Company that landed him a full-time position for a year and a half. When York decided to make his dream of opening a brewery in Mansfield a reality, he called on his local community bank, FHLBank member First Citizens National Bank, and received $136,000 in recoverable assistance from FHLBank’s Banking On Business (BOB) program.

According to Vice President, Business Development, Robert P. Fitzgerald, “First Citizens National appreciates the BOB program because it has enabled us to provide financing for a project that we believed in, but that needed some outside assistance. Through the joint efforts of our Bank and the BOB program, Jarrod York and Ashley Rodgers were able to create a unique and very well-received business on Main Street in Mansfield.”

Fitzgerald added, “Yorkholo Brewing Company is the third project BOB has helped First Citizens National Bank launch in Mansfield in recent years. First Citizens is pleased to be a part of the business growth in Mansfield that has come as a result of working with FHLBank and its community financing opportunities.”

Since the BOB program’s creation in 2000, FHLBank Pittsburgh has provided more than $43 million in BOB funding to over 480 small businesses throughout Delaware, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. It’s estimated that each BOB dollar leverages an additional six dollars in financial resources, in turn enhancing the job market and improving communities. More than 5,400 jobs have been created or retained – thanks to BOB.

To check out what’s brewing, visit the Yorkholo Brewing Company Web site.