ROCK ISLAND, Ill. — The Rock Island branch of the Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum will be converted into a new location for Great Revivalist Brew Lab after the museum's last day Saturday.
The museum and brewery announced the change on Facebook Friday. Though the museum will be closing, the Karpeles family donated the mobile exhibit documents, copies of originals shown in the museum, to Great Revivalist. They will be on display when the brewery opens, along with information about the history of the building.
Karpeles will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, where it will show its Star Trek and Walt Disney Drawings exhibits.
The Great Revivalist Brew Lab location in Geneseo is also closing on Saturday. Equipment and fixtures from the Geneseo location will be moving to Rock Island. Great Revivalist gift cards will be honored at Great Revivalist Brewery in Clinton and at the new location when it opens.
Cheryl Karpeles Alleman, chief financial officer and daughter of founders David and Marsha Karpeles, said the nonprofit needs to scale back its operations to be sustainable. There are currently 10 Karpeles museum locations, but without charging admission, Alleman said that number is hard to manage.
Alleman said the director of the Rock Island location was planning to step back, so selling the location worked for everyone involved.
"We never would have closed on the employees there," Alleman said. "But because there was a decision there on their part as well to kind of slow down, it just made sense."
Before the decision to sell the building was publicized, Alleman said several people approached the Karpeles with ideas. One of them was Richard Schwab, president and CEO of Great Revivalist Brewing Company.
Schwab said he loves historic buildings. Great Revivalist's Clinton location, its second venture, was transformed from a historic church into a family-friendly restaurant.
Growing up in Rock Island, Schwab said he remembers going to the museum and passing by the building frequently. While meeting with Rock Island officials in his search for a Quad Cities location, Schwab learned the Karpeles museum building was going up for sale soon. He contacted Alleman, and they began planning.
"I knew from the moment I drove up to it, I loved it," Schwab said. "I always drive by, and I always thought it would be a cool building for a brewery."
Schwab said the old buildings he likes to work with have great skeletons to work with. However, the challenge comes from adding modern fixtures like AC, gas and electric. For the museum building, Schwab said the roof, heating and AC will have to be replaced immediately. An elevator will also be designed and installed to get to the second floor.
"It's a huge challenge at first, but for the most part this building was made to be manipulated a bit," Schwab said. "It's a big empty box."
The deal was made even sweeter when Great Revivalist offered to continue displaying reproduction manuscripts and miniature ships in their restaurants if the Karpeles donated them, Alleman said.
"It's exciting that people can still get to see the museum in a sense, and with much longer hours, for that matter," Alleman said.
As for other Karpeles locations, the nonprofit is only planning to keep five museums open. Alleman said their locations in Duluth, Minnesota; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Buffalo, New York and Lake Mary, Florida are here to stay. There are big plans for the St. Augustine, Florida location, which is currently displaying a placeholder miniature collection.
Karpeles will turn its St. Augustine building into its main branch, chosen for its spot on St. George Street, the city's historic main street. The 200-year-old building needs some renovations before the museum can open, estimated to be around late spring or early summer. Alleman said this location will still be free when it opens.
Regarding Great Revivalist's Geneseo location, Schwab said he didn't want to shut it down. The restaurant had seating for 300, but could only offer parking for 60. On top of rent negotiations and crowding from the nearby strip mall, Schwab said it was just the right time. He said notice was short because he was still working on an agreement with Alleman, and wanted to get to work as soon as possible.
"First and foremost, we absolutely appreciate everything Geneseo did for us," Schwab said. "They were our first brewery, the first time I had the opportunity to do that. I'm extremely excited to be able to bring our brand to Rock Island and be able to show that. We would love to be able to restore that historic old building and really show off what we were able to do in Clinton."
Like its Geneseo and Clinton locations, the Rock Island location will be family-friendly. Schwab said the menu includes steak, salmon, chicken fingers, hand-tossed pizzas and hamburgers. He said he hopes to make the restaurant a must-see location for Rock Island.
"We really want to make it into a destination location," Schwab said. "Not just another brewery, not just another restaurant. Give families and people things to do and things to see, showcasing the Neoclassical building we have."
Schwab said his goal is to open the Rock Island location by early summer.
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