Downtown Business Feature: Jerry Corley’s Desire for Unified Community in the Nucleus of Jackson
Jerry Corley’s brilliance of Rock N Dough has multiplied all over Tennessee, with five locations in total to date, but when Hub City Brewing was birthed in February of 2019, Jerry knew it would be a brilliant business decision for the community of Downtown Jackson. As they were supplying all the beer for the Rock N Dough locations, they realized they needed a brewery here in Jackson, and soon after introduced the Hub City brand to downtown.
Their building is full of history, from the beginnings in 1913 when it was a Model T Ford showroom, to the days of it becoming a grocery supply store where the train would pull up beside it to deliver supplies. As construction began on the building, they discovered a basement that had been hidden for years, and now their walls contain the colorful whiskey bottles and boxes found in that basement. The Hub City Brewing building is filled with stories from the generations before Jerry, where the roads were dirt and trains were the main form of transportation. Jerry wanted to preserve this history by incorporating aspects like using the railroad tracks for a foot rale on the bar, or keeping the original brick.
“There’s no other place in Jackson to find a building like this that has this character,” said Corley. “I love coming in here and seeing the place covered with Rock N Dough pizza boxes, to see that people love both brands, and they understand the business.”
Jerry Corley’s desire is to provide a family friendly atmosphere where people will stay for a while, and he did this with the addition of a concert area, a bowling alley, and an outdoor entertainment space. The entertainment aspect is often overlooked and it always amazes Jerry that they don’t sell out their concerts every time. Sometimes people have a mindset of if the concert isn’t in Memphis or Nashville, it won’t be as good, but Hub City Brewing brings in some amazing artists.
With distributors as far as the Mississippi river and soon as far as Knoxville, Jerry’s job as owner includes any and every job that needs to be done, and often includes dreaming about future projects.
“My title is owner, but I also cut the grass,” said Corley. “I fill in wherever I need to be and answer as many questions as I can. I’m connected to everything.”
Jerry’s job is most rewarding when he walks into the space for an event and sees customers that he knows well, but also sees people he doesn’t recognize who often travel from several states away. When Rock N Dough first opened, along with the Jackson Walk, he felt like they were ahead of the times with nothing really existing Downtown, but as time went on, they are now a central part of the Downtown scene. Now, as Hub City Brewing has only been open for three years, Jerry again feels like they are ahead of the times, but awaiting the completely different downtown that he predicts will come in the next five years.
“The most challenging part is getting people to commit to coming downtown,” said Corley. “A lot of people still have a north and south mentality, but there’s only an interstate that separates the two. Breaking the mentality is crucial.”
Jerry’s goal is to bring a united community through his Hub City Brewing brand and atmosphere he and his team have created. He desires to see people stay in their own city on the weekend and enjoy all the incredible activities downtown has to offer.
“The more you come down here, the more people realize there are things to do in this town. I think it’s important to support the community, and one of the best ways you can do that is by supporting downtown,” said Corley. “When big industries come in to look at relocating to a city, one of the things they look at is their downtown, they want to know is it thriving? I think if you want to support the entire community, you support your downtown, it’s the nucleus.”
