Painting the Town: The Story Behind Voodoo’s Brewpub Murals

Here at Voodoo Brewing Co., we celebrate diversity and encourage our pub franchise locations to show off their individual style while paying tribute to their local flavor. One of the ways we do this is by commissioning local artists to paint a one-of-a-kind mural on the wall at each Voodoo brewpub we open. 

Our Homestead, PA location is the latest Voodoo brewpub to unveil its unique, locally-inspired artwork: a mural of local baseball legend Josh Gibson. The artist, Jeremy Raymer, recently completed this mural in May 2021 and is also a member of the local community. The finished work of art has been spotlighted on local TV news outlet WTAE-Pittsburgh, along with feature articles in local publications. 

Voodoo is all about building up the local communities where our brewpubs are located. We want to bring our award-winning craft beer and mesh with the local style and flavor of your cities and hometowns. We aren’t into the corporate, cookie-cutter, ancient practices of franchises past – we want to see your individual and local pride shine through your store!

Voodoo’s Ethos

At Voodoo, we pride ourselves in our individualism and want our Franchise Owners to feel like their store is their own, not just some out-of-the-box pub franchise like everywhere else. We not only allow but encourage our Franchise Owners to give their locations lots of local flair and pay tribute to their cities. We provide the blueprint and the framework and let you do the rest! 

For each of our pub franchise locations, we fund original murals by local artists that showcase the city’s heritage and culture. We love celebrating our Franchise Owners’ individual style and flair while supporting the local art communities. Each pub is versatile – they all look different from each other and feature local art inside and out. The Homestead location, for example, has both the outer mural of Josh Gibson and a variety of local art inside that pays tribute to other historical figures of the city.

Reclaiming Old Neighborhood Spots

You don’t have to start from scratch with a Voodoo Brewing Co. pub franchise- we love reclaiming restaurants or bars that are for sale in the area. Second-generation real estate is the name of our game! We can help reinvent favorite neighborhood joints with our world-renowned and award-winning craft beer. If you know of a nearby restaurant or bar that is up for sale – that is the ideal location for an up-and-coming Voodoo Brewing Co. pub franchise. We thrive best in urban and industrial areas where there is a lot of foot traffic. 

Reclaiming an existing bar or restaurant greatly reduces overhead costs, gives each location its own personality, and fits in with the local architecture. We strive to keep it simple – so you can keep the profits. We enjoy reusing and reclaiming existing local architecture and just adding some Voodoo flavor to existing historic buildings in the city.

Pittsburgh’s Homage to Local Heroes

We recently commissioned local artist Jeremy Raymer to create a mural at our Pittsburgh Voodoo Brewing location that celebrates the local flavor of the city. He chose local baseball legend, Josh Gibson, because he wanted to beautify the community while inspiring others to research Gibson as well as other historical figures. Gibson is known as one of the best power hitters of all time and played for the Homestead Grays and the Pittsburgh Crawfords.

The building that houses Voodoo-Homestead has its own history as well. The labor activist known as “Mother Jones” spent time in a jail cell inside of the building. A secret door leads to a room with more of Raymer’s artwork, including a mural of Mother Jones herself. The Josh Gibson mural can be seen from the Homestead Grays Bridge.

About Josh Gibson 

Joshua Gibson (1911 – 1947) was an American baseball catcher who primarily played for the Negro Leagues and had great success in leading his team to the World Series. He’s known as one of the greatest power hitters of all time and was the second Negro League player to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. 

He played for the Homestead Grays from 1931-32, then for the Pittsburgh Crawfords from 1932-36, and then returned to the Grays for a second stint. He also played for the Mexican League and became a manager for the Santurce Crabbers, a Puerto Rican baseball team. He’s known as the “black Babe Ruth,” though some called Babe Ruth “ the white Josh Gibson.”

Recently the MLB announced that it will recognize Negro League Records for the all-time baseball major league records, which earns Gibson the record for his single-season batting average of .441 – as of December 2020. His Hall of Fame plaque says that he “hit almost 800 home runs … during his 17-year career”. Josh Gibson was a proud member of the Pittsburgh Community and is a historical figure to inspire those who view it that anything is possible.

About Jeremy Raymer 

Jeremy Raymer quit his job as an engineer to pursue art because he wants to beautify his city one mural at a time. Raymer has already painted on over 100,000 square feet of public space in Pittsburgh, and says he has “no plans of stopping”. 

He’s recognized as a pillar in the community who is improving his city with his art and inspiring a younger generation of artists in the city. This is one of Raymer’s most ambitious projects to date using intricate colors and adding 3D elements to the building to make the baseball cap stand out. 

Raymer says, “This is what I live for, when I got that can in my hand and I get to paint a piece this large, I feel like Superman. I feel like a superhero to an extent and it’s a great opportunity to be able to be out here and create a piece this large for Pittsburghers and beyond to enjoy.” (WTAE)

Bringing Local Art to the Community 

We know that having art in the local communities can move mountains and inspire others to pursue their creative dreams. That’s why we’ve partnered with local artists in each of our Voodoo pub franchise locations to promote and celebrate the local culture of the cities. Preserving local heritage is a major part of our ethos and company culture. 

People who live in the neighboring communities of the Josh Gibson mural have praised Rayner for bringing some much-needed inspiration and beauty to their city. These murals are more than an urban masterpiece, they are a staple for the people in those communities who commute and walk by these pieces every day. It’s a symbol of strength and hope for the neighboring communities and the people who live there. 

We want each location to spotlight local art inside and outside of the building. We love using historical locations that tell a story so that we can continue to preserve and celebrate that memory. We don’t want to take away from the community vibe, we just want to add amazing award-winning beer to the local offerings.

Why Own a Voodoo Pub Franchise?

Voodoo Brewing Co. offers the most simple, yet successful operations possible. Besides, why overcomplicate things? We’re selling beer to people who want to have a good time and hang out in a comfortable atmosphere. And we do it with style! 

Voodoo offers the lowest minimum investment and the highest percentage of sales-to-investment ratio in comparison to our competitors. We keep it simple and operate in the most efficient manner possible, 

We don’t just sell beer and alcohol, either- unlike other pub franchise competitors who seem to include mediocre food on their menu as an afterthought, our chef-inspired menu items are as popular as our brews. There are multiple revenue streams for Franchise Owners to enjoy: approximately 60-70% of our sales come from alcohol (and that’s including top-notch cocktails and other liquor/wine sales in addition to our craft beer), 25-35% are in food sales, and 3-5% merchandise sales. The average ticket price is around $27-30 which averages 2 beers and a meal.

Take the Guesswork Out of Owning Your Own Pub

We take the heavy lifting and major expense out of owning a brewery: brewing and storing the product at our 30,000 square foot taproom at our Meadville, PA headquarters. When you’re a Voodoo pub Franchise Owner, you’ll get award-winning beer delivered straight to you and ready for customers’ consumption. 

Without having to worry about the fine-tuning that comes with brewing your own beer, you can still enjoy all of the perks of a craft brewpub with Voodoo. This gives you time to focus on more important aspects of operations and maximizing your ROI. We take the headaches out of owning a brewery for you! 

This also gives you a chance to focus on your decor and make your Voodoo brewpub your own! We highly encourage each of our Franchise Owners to put their own style into creating their space and paying tribute to the local heroes in their communities. We also offer customized Voodoo merchandise that’s specialized to your location to really bring in those fans who just can’t get enough of your store!

Serve Award-Winning Beer 

We call our Brew Master, Curt Rachocki, the “mad scientist” for a reason! For over a decade, he’s crafted some insanely unique and flavorful beer combinations and doesn’t plan on stopping any time soon. His experience and expertise give Voodoo Brewing an edge that other pub franchise bars don’t have – an award-winning, masterfully crafted product. 

Not to brag or anything, but we’ve won a crazy amount of awards. 

Our Most Notable Awards:

• Best Local Brewery
• Best Locally Made Beer
• Best Stout in Pennsylvania
• Runner Up for Best Beer in Pittsburgh
• Best Winter Beer 2015
• Product of the Year
• Winslow Award
• Best Food Truck
• Top Beers of the Year
• Thrillist Awards (Best New Brewery)
• Great American Beer Festival Best Beer of the Week
• Best Brunch
• Best Brewery
• Best Locally Made Beer
• Best Burger
• 50 Best IPAS in the Country

A Pub Franchise With Built-In Street Cred

We come with a national following and cult-like fans of our beer. We have a combined 40K followers across our social media channels and consistently interact with our customer base. You’ll already be ahead of the competitors by jumping on board with an established brand – with a pretty kick-ass marketing team. 

When you’re a part of the Voodoo pub franchise community, you’ll be a part of an award-winning brand with a cult-like following. What can we say? People love our beer and vibe. We keep our operations simple and run with a tight-knit staff. We pride ourselves on maintaining an atmosphere of fun and comfort, people love going to our locations because it feels like home. 

Ready to Make Your Dreams Come True?

If you’ve ever dreamed of owning your own bar or restaurant but didn’t quite have the insane amount of capital it takes to start from scratch, or you just needed a little bit more support – Voodoo franchising is the opportunity for you! What are you waiting for? Stop putting your dreams on the back burner and take a chance on yourself. 

We’re here to answer any questions you may have and can walk you through the entire process to begin your journey as a Voodoo Brewing Franchise Owner. Where you can make amazing profits, showcase your local style, and have a ton of fun doing it! Visit our pub franchise website for more information.