Owen Simpson
Entrepreneurship
Interview
Highland Brewing-Oscar Wong
If you mention beer in the mountains of western North Carolina, you’ll be likely hear one name – Oscar Wong. He is known as the “Godfather” of the modern beer movement here, after opening the first craft brewery back in 1994. (Fox News)
Oscar Wong as described on the Highland Brewing website
Founder, Owner, President, Chief Peddler, Schmoozing and Cleanup Guy
Highland founder, Oscar Wong, was born in Jamaica in 1940. At 18, he left the island to attend the University of Notre Dame, where he completed his masters in Civil/Structural Engineering. After retiring early from a successful engineering career that took him all over the country, Oscar landed in Asheville in 1994 and started Highland Brewing “as a hobby” in the 3,500 square foot basement of Barley’s Taproom in downtown Asheville.
He is an active member of the Rotary Club and other community-minded volunteer endeavors. He was awarded Small Business of the Year in 2007/2008 and the William A. V. Cecil Award for Leadership in Hospitality in 2011, both by the Asheville Chamber of Commerce. (Highlandbrewing.com, 11/2013)
