Little Animals Beer Project to make return in downtown JC

Little Animals Beer Project is making a comeback. The first rendition of Little Animals Beer Project – known as Little Animals Brewery – opened in 2020 and stayed in business up until June 2024. However, the closure was short-lived. The brewery announced through Facebook it will be returning after purchasing the Windsor Speakeasy building at 220 W. Market St. in downtown Johnson City. Chris Cates, owner of Little Animals Beer Project, said closing was largely due to the original brewery opening in during the height of Covid. The strained revenue stream during the pandemic put the business behind and eventually made rent for the first location at 324 E. Main St. too difficult to meet. "It just didn't work out business-wise," Cates said with a shrug. "We had been operating on a very, very discounted Covid-era rent and could barely afford it because we were so behind on money. [The leaser] comes to me and is like, 'Y'know, we can't do this forever, I need the proper price per square foot of this place,' and we both had to make a tough decision." Remaining closed was never an option for Cates, though. Reopening was something he hoped to pursue, wanting to own the next place Little Animals would call its home. Cates said while he looked for the next place to set up Little Animals, the event that truly pushed him to reopen was when tragedy struck his life. His uncle died in November 2024, and just a month later, so did his father. "It was real tough for me because they were both like my heroes," Cates said, blinking away tears. "The thing that always resounded with me was how proud both of those guys were for me having the courage to go out and own my own business." The passing of his father led Cates to fully taking over the project his dad left, which was selling the family business's property of Cates Music Center. Cates said selling the property became his full-time job After he managed to sell the property in March 2025, he knew the next step was to bring back Little Animals. "After completing that task, I was like, 'I'm going to take this blessing…of this family business money and I'm going to do what would've made my dad and my uncle proud, and my grandfather,' who passed away in 2018," Cates said. "I'm going to do something to make these guys look down from heaven and smile about what I'm doing." Cates said he was approached by the owners of the Windsor Speakeasy just a week after closing on Cates Music Center. By October, it was solidified Cates would purchase the building, and on Wendesday, Cates announced Little Animals' return and Windsor shared its final day open would be Jan. 16. Cates said reopening the brewery in downtown was driven by his love for the area and the community of people that makes it thrive. "Downtown's where it started," he said. "The only thing that's more important than the brewery is the community the brewery is in. The brewery is just the venue for community interaction – the beer is secondary to that. That's the way it's always been throughout history." Cates said though Little Animals will be in a different location, customers can expect to see many of the same beers from the original brewery, including bestseller "Denim Man," as well as some new selections. The name also remains mostly the same, he said, with "Little Animals" being a playful reference to yeast, the fermentation process and the Latin word "animalcula" meaning "little animal". He added while the opening date is not yet solidified, he hopes to have the space ready by late summer or early fall this year. Cates said out of all of the excitement he has for coming back, he's most eager to just get back into his passion for brewing beer. "For me, it's not so much the partaking of the beer, which I also love – I just genuinely love the process of brewing beer," he said, a smile lighting up his face. "I feel like I'm utilizing myself right. It's just getting back to work is what I'm excited about."