Our Story
Who We Are
We’re John and Kevin, co-owners and founders of Iron Street Distillery and life-long friends. We met in grade school and while we each traveled our own adventures in life, we reconnected by a chance meeting in 2021. After a few cocktails and conversations the idea of a startup distillery was born and a partnership formed. Stop in to say “Hi,” and sip on one of our finely handcrafted cocktails. We look forward to meeting you!
Iron Street Distillery is Central Minnesota’s first distillery located in St. Cloud, MN. The people of Iron Street are passionate about doing things the right way, and our Whiskey, Rum, Bourbon, Rye, Gin, and Vodka are no exception.
Our Journey
In late 2021, Kevin purchased the historic 539 E. St. Germain building with the idea to repurpose the 64,000sq ft building as a place that many could enjoy. With his background in commercial construction and economic development, a distillery idea came to life.
John was brought in to help start up and run both distilling of the spirits and development of the tasting room. Together as co-owners, Iron Street Distillery opened to the public January of 2023.
The name? Inspired by the historic railway that outlines three sides of the massive building we now call home.
Our Mission
At Iron Street Distillery, we are on a mission to produce fantastic spirits in the back of house and bring those forward to create delicious, fresh, handcrafted cocktails with best-in-class service.
- John tells his three sons, “Work Hard and good things will happen.” John works hard and is committed to producing premium spirits without the premium price. John leads by example and only presents the best in service; both to his team and guests in the Cocktail Room.
- Kevin has been known to say, “I have an idea….” which has led himself and his wife Julie to embark on many creative ventures over the last 35 years. Startups are a very large undertaking but we are working towards some great cocktails and some adventures as well, which make for a full and fun life. Saving this beautiful historic 100 year old building was Kevin’s first goal. With that completed, we moved into the partnership with John and are excited for what’s yet to come.