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ORAL HISTORY

Tom Sullivan

Ardent Craft Ales

Tom Sullivan is the owner and a co-founder of Ardent Craft Ales. Tom grew up in an Airforce family, moving around the United States during much of his childhood with his two sisters and parents. Tom remembers gathering with other families on the Airforce base around beer and food. While working for a pharmaceutical company, he dove into homebrewing. His focus was on researching historic beer recipes. Tom eventually joined other homebrewers to form a co-operative out of a garage in the Churchill neighborhood of Richmond, VA called Ardent Craft Ales. The co-op became a staple of Churchill over the few years that they brewed. In 2014, Ardent Craft Ales opened a brick-and-mortar brewery in Scott’s Addition. This industrial neighborhood would develop into a hub for breweries in Richmond. Tom worked as the Operations Manager with business partners Kevin O’Leary and Paul Karns and eventually took over as owner of Ardent. Like many businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, Ardent pivoted to delivery and curbside pickup. Ardent also temporarily acted as a food bank called Ardent Helps for unemployed restaurant industry workers. During his time at Ardent, Tom has learned the importance of balancing brewing and quality control with running efficient business operations.