Dave Fritz and TRICOR Insurance Help Revitalize Potosi Community

The Potosi Brewing Company was founded in 1852 and eventually became the fifth-largest brewer in Wisconsin. It operated continuously until market pressures caused it to close its doors in 1972.

The shutdown was a tremendous loss to the community, and the brewery’s buildings fell into disrepair.

Around 1999, the community rallied behind restoring the historic brewery buildings and the Potosi Brewery reopened in 2008. The daunting effort involved hundreds of volunteers and over 400 donors. Dave Fritz, CEO at TRICOR Insurance, was involved in the fundraising and oversight. He is the volunteer President of the Potosi Foundation, Inc., a not-for-profit 501(c)(3). The Potosi Brewing Company is solely owned by the Potosi Foundation, Inc.

The completely restored buildings are also home to a restaurant, taproom, the American Breweriana Association’s National Brewery Museum, and an Interpretive Center for the Great River Road, which runs along the Mississippi River from New Orleans into Canada.

The brewery contributes all profits to support historical and educational-based initiatives and charitable causes in the communities it serves.

“Our goals were to create good quality jobs for the area and help the community both through charitable support and by generating tourism revenue for the region,” Dave says. “I’m proud of the work we have done to restore Potosi Brewing as not just a landmark in the community but a well-recognized brewery in the nation with one of the top beer museums in the world.”

TRICOR staff regularly volunteer through the Potosi Foundation, which supports many nonprofit organizations. The project has been featured in several news reports, including a national NBC news story, a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article, and a Forbes list of the world’s best beer museums.