ROLLING OUT — Joel Iverson, co-founder and CEO of Monday Night Brewing, built a craft beverage company from a group of friends homebrewing in a garage into a six-taproom operation across the Southeast. Stephanie Pardue founded the Gluten Free Atlanta Facebook group nearly two decades ago after going gluten free herself to manage a health condition, turning her own search for safe places to eat into a resource thousands of Atlantans now rely on. On Founders and Funders, the two talk about how one brewer’s quiet effort to make his celiac wife a good beer turned into Gluten Freedom Festival ATL, now heading into its second year at a bigger home, Monday Night Garage.

What first inspired Monday Night Brewing to make this personal for you and your team?

JOEL: It started years ago with a neighbor of mine who was gluten free. I had no idea what that meant until I saw her navigate it, long before most people knew about it. I also have a son who turned out to have a gluten intolerance, so it stayed on my radar at home and with friends. One of our creative brewers has a wife who is celiac, and most gluten free beer is not very good, so he took it on as a passion project to make her one that actually tasted good. [MORE]