Mara and Chris Palipchak knew it was time for their “small but mighty” brewing operation in New Castle to make the leap (excuse the pun) to downtown Sharon. Croaker’s Brewing Company has been the passion project of the mental health specialist and IT security guru. Now, it’s grown into a thriving enterprise with a bona fide fan base. The frog had outgrown the pond.

“We’ve been looking for a new home and saw all the things they were bringing into Sharon—an unsaturated market—and it looked like a great opportunity,” said Mara. Opportunity, trends, and potential pointed thirty minutes up the road. It’s a repeated theme for the latest wave of downtown dreamers and dwellers. Something is happening in Sharon that’s attracting entrepreneurs with a lot more funk and color in their lineup.