Above: Last month, Two Stones Pub employees visited Faithful Friends Animal Society, one of beneficiaries of the area restaurant chain’s fundraising efforts. Top row (l-f): Shannon O’Neill of Faithful Friends holding shelter dog Snowflake; Isabella Gregg, Emily Bonavita, and Ben Muse of Two Stones Pub; Sabrina Bruckner of Faithful Friends; bottom row (l-r): Payton Smith, Kayla Powell, and Grace Gizzio of Two Stones Pub; Kanga, a shelter dog at Faithful Friends. Photo by Jim Miller.
You can learn a lot from a winning recipe.
Fifteen years ago, in a modest, unassuming spot in the Brookside community just outside of Newark, the first Two Stones Pub opened. The pub’s three owners knew success wasn’t guaranteed, but they had a recipe they believed in.
At the time, Michael Stiglitz, Chris Meyer, and Ben Muse were three battle-tested hospitality professionals who had spent many of their working years at Iron Hill Brewery, where they learned the value of pairing high-quality pub fare with a wide selection of tasty craft beer. All three felt they could take that recipe and do something with it in their own way — something that expressed their personalities.
And that’s exactly what they did.
“To us, hospitality is about asking ‘How can we make this experience great? How can we make it better?’” says Muse.
Many years later after taking that initial gamble, a total of five Two Stones Pub locations serve our area: three in Delaware (Newark, Hockessin, and Wilmington) and two in Pennsylvania (Kennett Square and Jennersville).
“We’ve always believed that restaurants are the cornerstones of a community. We love giving back, and it’s not lost on us that we wouldn’t be here without the support of those communities,” Muse says.
Making it 15 years in the hospitality business revealed another truth. Just like the pairing of great beer and food, the combination of community and giving back has been another winning recipe.
“When we were talking about ways to celebrate turning 15 years old, those two ideas came up and combined pretty naturally,” Muse says. “Let’s look at our communities and ask ‘How can we be a part of making them better? How can we help make them great?’ That’s where Ripple Effect got started.”
In addition to other efforts, proceeds from sales of 2SP’s Ripple Effect Hazy IPA will go to the charitable campaign. Photo provided by Two Stones Pub.
Ripple Effect is the name of Two Stones’ year-long effort to help raise $150,000 for 13 area charity groups: Delaware Breast Cancer Coalition, Down Syndrome Association of Delaware, Faithful Friends, Friends of Fusion Foundation, Food Bank of Delaware, The Garage Youth Center, Make-A-Wish, Meals on Wheels, Nemours Children’s Health, Philabundance, Ronald McDonald House, Sam’s Kids, and a fund that would benefit six fire departments in the area (AETNA, Hockessin, Jennersville, Kennett Square, Middletown and Jennersville).
Through a mix of in-store promotions, online giving, and special events, the teams at Two Stones Pubs will raise funds for these organizations throughout their 15th anniversary year.
“We really just wanted to celebrate this anniversary by committing to a big goal that can make a meaningful impact on causes that matter to us, our teams, and our guests,” Muse says.
— To give and/or learn more about Ripple Effect, go to TwoStonesPub.com.
