Success Story: Busted Knuckle Brewery

Busted Knuckle Brewery – Williston 2022

WILLISTON – What started out as a hobby for Ben Boreson has since turned into a two-generation family-owned business. After working for over 30 years as an auto mechanic, Ben and his wife Connie started Busted Knuckle Brewery in Glasgow, Montana, in 2014. Seven years later their children Jake and Emma expanded the business to Williston in early 2021.

After retiring from mechanic work, Ben converted his shop into the first Busted Knuckle location. The brewery was complete with unique details such as tables made from radiators and license plates used as serving trays.

For the second location, the family is happy to bring a new life to the old county shop building in downtown Williston. When they discovered this building, they knew they were home. The old shop had cement floors, high ceilings, and large windows, which made it an ideal building. They purchased the building just 5 months before the global pandemic. That made things a challenge, but they managed to convert the building into the brewery in just over a year. The building’s downtown location, size, parking, and garage doors that lead to a space for an outdoor patio making it the perfect spot for their second brewery.

Keith Olson, ND SBDC advisor in Williston, has assisted Ben and Connie with several aspects of their business. Keith said, “It is very rewarding to work on a project like this where the client has a vision for the finished product and works tirelessly to achieve it. They had many obstacles in their path, but their determination helped them work it through. It was inspirational. And, rehabbing an old building presented many challenges to overcome. It was so awesome to see how great the rehab on this property was at completion.”

With their new brewery in Williston, Ben and Connie are including the second and third generation of their family into the business. Their son Jake and daughter Emma and each of their families are actively involved with the brewery. Their priorities are family, community, and beer in that order. The family has designed everything about the Busted Knuckle experience to create a sense of community. Their goal is to build relationships and provide a positive interaction with their customers, which ultimately makes them become a part of the Busted Knuckle family. They know from experience that nothing brings people together like fresh brewed beer, and as the first brewery in Williston, they love sharing their unique brewery culture with a new community.

Busted Knuckle Brewery has been named the 2022 New Business of the Year for the Williston region. In his award acceptance speech, Ben stated, “I would like to thank Keith Olson for all his help in this process. Without his help and the Williston Economic Development Department this probably wouldn’t have happened. We hit a couple stumbling blocks in the process, but they always came through with a solution to help.” He continued to thank the community and stated that “Williston has been a great place to start a business.”