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Bank turned brewery: Community-focused Lost Art Taproom 'hops' into new venture

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KNOB NOSTER – In a former Knob Noster bank and post office, now lays the foundation of a new brewery, along with a flourishing taproom, that recently celebrated its second full year of operation.

The Lost Art Taproom, owned and operated by husband-and-wife-duo Jesse and Lisa Stauffer-Baum, has evolved since the Star-Journal last reported on it two years ago. After celebrating the taproom’s two-year anniversary on Oct. 16, the Star-Journal decided to check in with owner Jesse and learn about how it came to be.

Eastern Africa is where the roots of Lost Art Taproom and Brewery began to take shape. Tanzania to be exact, where Jesse and Lisa moved in 2016 to start a fruit-growing operation and visit friends. During this time, they also began learning to make malt. But, they did find some issues, particularly with the language barrier. Relying on their friends, the Stauffer-Baums learned persistence and adaptability in malting and brewing, albeit in Swahili. After a while, something clicked in Jesse’s mind.

“If I can do it over there (Tanzania), then I can surely do it here (in Knob Noster) as well,” Stauffer-Baum said.

Once back stateside in 2017, the Stauffer-Baums moved into the former house of Jesse’s grandfather in Knob Noster and began their own malthouse. From that point on, they knew a future bar or brewery could be in the works, but they also knew they had to do it their way.

“We wanted to have a place where people feel comfortable bringing their kids,” Stauffer-Baum said. “Nobody gets crazy. Everybody has a nice time to just relax.”

Fostering a home-like environment was important from the get-go for Stauffer-Baum. He had seen what other bar atmospheres were like and wanted something different. Giving a small town like Knob Noster a place to kick back and relax, but also be family-friendly, was always the dream.

To achieve this dream, the Stauffer-Baums began renting the former bank and post office on State Street in September 2021. They brought in longtime friend David Eich to be a partner and specialize in the business side of the bar. Lisa began using social media to promote the bar. Jesse, focusing on brewing, bought beer kettles as the starting point of a brewery, but would have to wait a couple of years before using. The Lost Art Taproom later opened on Oct. 16, 2021.

A little over a year later, Stauffer-Baum decided it was time to get into the brewery business. However, getting a brewer’s license is a long and tedious process. According to Stauffer-Baum, it can take anywhere from nine months to a year and a half. For the Taproom, it took a measly three months. Receiving it last March, the Lost Art Taproom suddenly had given birth to the Lost Art Brewery and offered its first beer in April. Today, crafts like Blonde, IPA, Stout, Extra Special Bitter, Pale Ale, and Porter are ready to be consumed in Knob Noster.

“(The brewing) allows us to have more control over what you can get because you can't always get everything through your distributors,” Stauffer-Baum said. “It also allows us to have more control over the cost of what we're putting in.”

On the food menu, guests won’t find much outside of pre-packaged snacks. However, what it lacks in food, the Taproom makes up for in local wine and beer. When it first opened, it only served wine selections from Stone Hill Winery out of Hermann. Since then, the assortment has grown and now includes selections from Wildlife Ridge Winery of Smithton, Dale Hollow Winery of Stover, and Les Bourgeois Vineyards of Rocheport.

The Taproom beer collection started with crafts from Diametric Brewing in Lee’s Summit, Fringe Beerworks in Lee’s Summit, and Welpman Springs Brewing in Stover. Now producing its own beer, Lost Art no longer provides malt for other breweries. Although it doesn’t help in the production of its competition, Stauffer-Baum said he still sells their beer because he sees the value in them and how much they’ve helped his business grow.

“Their products are awesome and they fill a niche that I don't think you can get from other places,” Stauffer-Baum said.

As for his customers, Stauffer-Baum knows that they have a desire for this niche as well.

“We have people in here who are super tasters and they can taste minute little things that you wouldn't notice at first until they point them out,” Stauffer-Baum said. “They'll tell you 10 different flavors that they get out of their 10 different impressions.”

Stauffer-Baum has searched for a community that accepted him for a while. Moving around a lot as an Air Force kid, he never had time to develop relationships. Even in Knob Noster High School, from which he graduated, Stauffer-Baum says he had "small circles," and though his graduating class was small, he never spoke to or heard of some of his peers.

Once he opened the Taproom, though, Stauffer-Baum felt welcomed by all in Knob Noster. Homebrewers and consumers coming up to him – intrigued by the process he goes through or how much they appreciate his products – only strengthened his connection with the city. With a community behind him, he feels it’s “imperative” to stay local and invest in the city that brought him in.

“Our clientele are the people that seek out unique things,” Stauffer-Baum said. “Without offering something unique, I don't even think we would be in business anymore.”

Over the last two years, the Taproom has hosted celebrations ranging from birthdays to wedding receptions to hosting a full wedding.

“We sell beer and wine, but really, it's this sense of community that brings people in here.”

Zach Bott can be reached at 660-747-8123.


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