In college, Paul Fryman developed an appreciation for beer, but it was in Germany where he fell in love with microbreweries.
That passion eventually led to JAFB, a Wooster-based microbrewery founded in 2011 by Paul Fryman, along with his father, Jerry, and brother, Tony. It opened on Beall Avenue during the summer of 2012.
Now, more than a decade later, JAFB has been named a Wooster Area Chamber of Commerce Small Business of the Year in the under 15 employees category.
“It’s quite the honor,” Fryman said. “It makes me really proud of the business we have been able to create here and the environment. It’s a testament to the team (of eight employees) we have and the staff we have. They can feel a sense of accomplishment because we have a plan and we are executing it.”
Fryman grew up in West Salem and moved away in 2002 to attend Allegheny College. He studied managerial economics. He studied for a semester abroad in Germany, and he really loved the social aspect of the microbreweries there. He wanted to replicate that kind of establishment and feel back home.