PRESS CONTACT:
Luke Perkins, Manager of Communications and Public Relations
303.866.3670 | luke.perkins@state.co.us 

Founded in 2016 by former special education teacher Tiffany Fixter, Brew-Ability is a fully accessible and inclusive brewery and pizzeria that provides a welcoming environment for people with disabilities as both customers and employees. Due to its dedication to accessibility this venue will serve as the perfect backdrop for a meaningful discussion with a number of disability advocates, including Peter Pike, manager at The Office of Independent Living, Julie Reiskin, LCSW and co-executive director of Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition, and other special guests.

“We’ve had, and continue to have, really fierce disability advocates in Colorado,” said Nicole Winowiecki, director of development and planning for Brew-Ability. “It's important that people hear this history and are exposed to the inequities in our systems and contemplate how we can be more inclusive to people who interact with the world in different ways.”

Created to put the theories and best practices of accessibility in the workplace into action, Brew-Ability provides numerous inclusive elements for employees and customers. These elements include:

• adaptive dining items for customers
• a large dedicated sensory area 
• a vibrating dance floor for hearing impaired and deaf visitors
• photo heavy recipe guides for the kitchen staff
• color coded taps with Braille and accessible registers to support the independence of bartenders 
• menus with both American Sign Language and Braille options to ensure customers can order in ways that are accessible to themselves and the staff regardless of hearing or vision impairment 

“Employment gives purpose and fulfillment to so many people and we pride ourselves on allowing people with disabilities to earn work experience and build skills that help them continue to be successful in the future, while earning a market wage,” Winowiecki said. “Providing opportunities like this shows employers that by not providing accessible jobs they are excluding a huge chunk of our population that are truly amazing people and hard workers.”

In addition to a discussion on the history of disability advocacy in Colorado, attendees to an evening with Brew-ability will be treated to a pizza buffet and receive one drink ticket, both included in the event's price, allowing them to savor an array of dishes crafted by Brew-Ability's talented team. Tickets ($35-40) are currently on sale for this event but supplies are limited.

This evening at Brew-Ability is one of a number of upcoming events in the works for History Colorado’s Community Table. Envisioned as a living history series authored by communities, Community Table invests in the expertise of Colorado’s diverse communities by partnering with them to share their cultures on their terms.

“Community Table events are explorations of cultures, communities, and stories that make the historical personal,” said Ani Steele, Public Programs and Events Manager for History Colorado. “For many people history is dates and times and that puts a step between us and the people we are learning about. By directly connecting with cultures we can learn about the lives of a community and come to appreciate experience as a form of expertise.”

In addition to the evening with Brew-Ability, Community Table is partnering with the CSU Spur campus for a pair of upcoming events:

• December 12, 2023, Community Table and CSU Spur are holding a zero-waste cooking and history workshop with Paula Thomas, owner of the Ecological Kitchen, and Dr. Rachael Storm, History Colorado's curator of business and industry
• February 15, 2024, Community Table and CSU Spur will partner with a cultural expert from the Latinx community, as well as Paula Thomas and Dr. Rachael Storm, to explore the cultural, culinary, and historical significance of corn and tortillas

Additional information about Community Table events as well as the other upcoming events hosted by History Colorado can be found at historycolorado.org/events.

About History Colorado
History Colorado is a division of the Colorado Department of Higher Education and a 501(c)3 non-profit that has served more than 75,000 students and 500,000 people in Colorado each year. It is a 144-year-old institution that operates eleven museums and historic sites, a free public research center, the Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation which provides technical assistance, educational opportunities, and other access to archaeology and historic preservation, and the History Colorado State Historical Fund (SHF), which is one of the nation’s largest state funded preservation programs of its kind. More than 70% of SHF grants are allocated in rural areas of the state. Additionally, the offices of the State Archaeologist and the State Historic Preservation Officer are part of History Colorado. 

History Colorado’s mission is to create a better future for Colorado by inspiring wonder in our past. We serve as the state’s memory, preserving and sharing the places, stories, and material culture of Colorado through educational programs, historic preservation grants, collecting, outreach to Colorado communities, the History Colorado Center and Stephen H. Hart Research Center in Denver, and 10 other museums and historic attractions statewide. History Colorado is one of only six Smithsonian Affiliates in Colorado. Visit HistoryColorado.org, or call 303-HISTORY, for more information. #HistoryColorado