Support is brewing
Jeremy Duffy ’93 creates lager, seltzer to benefit The Fund for Providence College
By Vicki-Ann Downing ’21G
Ten years ago, Jeremy Duffy ’93 and his business partner, Devin Kelly, purchased a 131,000-square-foot industrial complex at 461 Main Street in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Known as the Kellaway Center, it was once home to the William H. Haskell Manufacturing Plant, maker of screws and fasteners in the 1800s. Duffy and Kelly envisioned the vast brick mill space as a location for their startup, Isle Brewers Guild. A brewing cooperative, it would offer a 100-barrel brewing system with 15 fermentation tanks, canning equipment, and a 50,000-square-foot packaging facility to small craft brewers whose capacity could not keep up with demand.
“We shot out of the gate quickly,” Duffy said. Six small breweries signed on as partners in 2017, making Isle Brewers Guild one of the top 75 breweries in the United States. Today, it has 10 partners under contract and is 68th by volume among 9,800 breweries in the country.
In 2018, Duffy and Kelly expanded into retail at the Pawtucket complex, opening an 18-tap beer hall known as The Guild to sell their own brews and a private event space called The Barn. Next came a seasonal beer garden, Guild PVD, near the pedestrian bridge in Providence. This summer, the beer garden will become permanent, sharing space with Seven Stars Bakery (“Coffee to a pint, the circle of life,” Duffy said). The Guild Warren, a 140-seat restaurant with a 40-seat patio and small batch brewery, opened in 2021 on the Warren waterfront with a space for small events, The Nook.
“I love this industry,” Duffy said. “It’s about the quality of people’s lives, customers and employees. It’s about the place of community. Craft breweries operate in the European model, inseparable from the center of community life, and family friendly.”
Being part of a community is important to Duffy. He is co-chair of the Pawtucket Foundation, a nonprofit that advocates for business development in the city. He has served Providence College as a member of the School of Business Advisory Council and the President’s Council, and this year received the Mal Brown Award from the National Alumni Association in recognition of his dedication to the college.
He found another way to give back in October 2024 when The Guild launched two new beverages — Friars Forever, a light lager, and Hux, a black cherry hard seltzer — to benefit The Fund for Providence College through Beyond Limits: The Campaign for Providence College.
“Community is not just inside these walls, it’s everywhere,” Duffy said.
Duffy’s history is inextricably linked with PC. His father, David A. Duffy ’61, ’11Hon. is a former college trustee and longtime volunteer, and his younger son, Griffin Duffy ’28, just completed his first year at the college. Duffy and his wife, Julie, married in St. Dominic Chapel in 2001 with the college president, Rev. Philip A. Smith, O.P. ’63, officiating.
“Providence means everything to us,” Duffy said. “I call it ‘the Friar hug.’ The people who embraced Griffin, it’s incredible, even people who don’t know me. He is taken care of, because that’s what the college does. It’s all about the individual and the growth of that individual.”
Duffy wasn’t required to attend PC; his older brother and sister went to Georgetown. But he had experienced life away from home during four years at boarding school at Cushing Academy in Ashburnham, Massachusetts (later serving for 16 years on its board of trustees). He studied political science in college but spent most of his time with PC Athletics, working in sports information and sports marketing, which he fully expected to make his career.
After graduation, he left the country to work for the Irish Basketball Association in Dublin, the national governing body for the sport in Ireland. The salary wasn’t great (“I was basically paid in pints of Guinness”) but it was another learning experience away from home.
“I was thrown into the deep end,” Duffy said. “You have to be fearless at some level. You have to trust yourself enough that you can swim or at least tread water a little bit.”
As part of the role, Duffy helped inaugurate the Scholar Athlete Games, a program to achieve conflict resolution through sports, in Belfast. Former Friar coach Joe Mullaney ’65Hon., ’98Hon. was invited as a distinguished guest. It was Duffy’s job to drive Coach Mullaney and his wife, Jane, around Ireland.
“What a wonderful man,” Duffy said.
When he returned to the United States, Duffy joined Craigville Sports Associates, a sports event marketing and management startup launched by BIG EAST founder and Friar coach Dave Gavitt ’89Hon. with his sons, Dan Gavitt ’95G and Corey Gavitt. Two years later, Duffy brought Craigville’s customers to Duffy & Shanley, the marketing and advertising agency his father founded in Providence in 1973. In doing so he turned down an offer to work on a major account at a global marketing firm in Boston, though he was hesitant about the decision.
“I was 27. My father invited me to lunch. He told me, ‘I’m 57 years old and I don’t know what I want to do with my life. Be open to anything.’ It washed over me. ‘Don’t box yourself in. Have no regrets.’”
Duffy spent 15 years at Duffy & Shanley, first as director of sports marketing and then as a partner and vice president of business development, before leaving to pursue his startup.
“I could have stayed forever and been super happy and lived a wonderful life,” Duffy said. “It was too comfortable. I was always looking for big ideas. I was always an entrepreneur at heart.”
Entrepreneurship is a family tradition, too. Duffy’s grandfather, Joseph F. Duffy, the son of Irish immigrants, ran Duffy’s Tavern at Benefit Street and Broadway in Pawtucket until 1986. Jeremy Duffy remembers washing glasses in the bar. A painting that hung on the wall in that tavern now hangs on the wall in his Pawtucket beer hall.
Duffy points out that his father, David Duffy, who was the first in his family to attend college, launched Duffy & Shanley when he was 33 years old with three children at home after being let go from another position.
“I walk in the footsteps of successful entrepreneurs,” Duffy said. “I love big ideas and I love the independence of trying to make something work. I am grateful to my mentors for their support.”
Duffy first took note of the craft beer industry when he was a college student and brands such as Sam Adams, Harpoon, Anchor Steam, and Sierra Nevada hit the market.
“I was fascinated by the industry. It was unlike anything the United States had known in the last 100 years,” Duffy said.
He is fortunate to have a knowledgeable business partner in Kelly. They met more than 20 years ago when Duffy managed the alcoholic beverage account at Duffy & Shanley and Kelly ran the Stella Artois account for InBev. Today their venture employs more than 70 people, brewing all styles of beer, and continues to adapt to meet changing consumer tastes.
“We introduced our first non-alcoholic beer this year for dry January,” Duffy said. “It’s delicious. It’s a pilot called The Guild NA. People are not drinking as much; young people are more health conscious. The trend is everywhere. So we continue to evolve as a company. We focus on our customers. They drive our decisions. We are now an established company playing a part in people’s lives and livelihoods. We never take that for granted.”
Raise a glass to Friartown
“Brewed for you by a group of faithful Friars.”
Friars Forever, a light lager, and Hux, a black cherry-flavored hard seltzer, were crafted by The Guild Brewing Company to benefit The Fund for Providence College.
The beverages were introduced in October 2024 at the launch of Beyond Limits: The Campaign for Providence College. They are sold on campus at McPhail’s, during ice hockey games at Schneider Arena, and at restaurants, bars, and liquor stores in the Providence area. All proceeds after expenses are donated to The Fund for PC by Jeremy Duffy ’93 and Devin Kelly, co-owners of The Guild. The first check for $10,000 was presented in December.
“I love to look at ways I can give back to Providence College,” Duffy said.
The idea of a beverage to benefit the Beyond Limits campaign was proposed in July 2024 by Sarah Firetto ’03, director of alumni relations at PC, and Chris Flaherty ’14, associate director.
Faithful Friars helped Duffy bring the beverages to market. The cans were designed by Myles Dumas ’03, a graphic artist who created the logo for soccer team Rhode Island FC. Chuck Borkoski ’71, ’24Hon., who retired after a career with McLaughlin & Moran, advised on distribution. Mike Raia ’05,
president of Half Street Group, a strategic consulting firm, developed the communication plan.
Friars Forever is a traditional American lager made with barley and Magnum hops. Hux hard seltzer, flavored with black cherry, is named for Huxley Avenue, which once ran through the center of campus. They are easy-drinking beverages at 4.3% ABV.
“I am thrilled that all of the net profits from the Friars beer series will go to Providence College,” Duffy said. “It has done incredibly well. I’d love for it to be around for years to come.”
Guild Sampler
Besides my favorite Friars Forever light lager, I am proud of the beverages our eight brewers produce at The Guild for our customers.
Jeremy duffy ’93
- WARREN G: A double IPA created to celebrate the opening of our Warren location. Aroma of tropical mango, bright citrus, and peach. Very soft bitterness. Bursting with bright tropical flavor. Fermented with London Fog yeast. Made with Citra, Amarillo, and Vic Secret hops. 8% ABV.
- HOPPY GUILDMORE: A traditional American Pale Ale. A sessionable pale ale, easy to enjoy over a long period, it has a soft mouthfeel and moderate bitterness. Only whirlpool and dry hops were added utilizing Citra and Cashmere hop varieties. 5% ABV.
- IRISH SOCIAL CLUB: An Irish stout only offered for St. Patrick’s Day. The name is a tip of the cap to Patrick McCabe, a Pawtucket legend and proprietor of the Irish Social Club on Pawtucket Avenue for 58 years. We hope the spirit of McCabe and his establishment fills the beer hall as it pours. Irish Social Club is our very first beer poured through a traditional stout faucet using nitrogen instead of CO₂. It pours a beautiful, almost black color with hints of ruby along the edge of the glass. Our brewer selected the unique Loughran Family Irish Ale malt to blend with flaked barley, carafa, and chocolate malt. The flavor is incredibly smooth, roasty, and creamy. 4.2% ABV.
- HANDLINE KOLSCH: This special beer is brewed for our great friends at Devil’s Purse Brewing Company in Massachusetts. It is my year-round to-go. Made with Vanguard hops, this is a Kolsch style German lager. Light and crispy. 5% ABV.
Jeremy Duffy ’93 on the PC Podcast
Beyond Limits: The Campaign for Providence College represents a transformative investment in academics, access, and the student experience at PC. Your support through the Fund for Providence College is the most direct way to have an immediate impact in enhancing these areas.
