Inspiration Brewing takes over former Funk taproom in Elizabethtown

Inspiration Brewing Company is moving into one of Elizabethtown’s most recognizable beer addresses, taking over the former Funk Brewing taproom at 28 S. Market St. The shift gives Brian Mills a ready-made downtown room with a long craft-beer memory, but it also puts a new name on a space that has already survived more than one operator change.

That matters in a town where downtown hospitality spaces have to work hard to hold attention. The building at 28 S. Market St. was first known as Funk’s taproom, then became Pine Creek Spirits, and later sat vacant again. For a brewery trying to establish itself quickly, that kind of turnover cuts both ways: the room already has foot traffic and local recognition, but it also comes with expectations from drinkers who remember what it used to be.

Pine Creek Spirits’ own history shows how much of the space had already been repurposed before Inspiration arrived. The company said it began production at the end of 2019 after starting in a 10-by-10 production area in its banquet room, then moved into the second bar behind Funk Brewing at 28 S. Market St. before expanding to the front bar after Funk exited. Pine Creek also said its lineup grew from vodka, whiskey and gin to more than 13 spirits or RTDs, and that the Elizabethtown site included a full-service kitchen, beer taps and banquet space.

Inspiration Brewing is not a brand-new name in the county. The brewery opened in Ephrata on March 14, 2025, and Brian Mills has said he started homebrewing in 2011 before working part-time at Mount Gretna Craft Brewing from 2019 to 2022. Lancaster County Brewers Guild lists Inspiration as co-owned by Brian Mills, Charley Mills and Craig Chu, a sign that the Elizabethtown move is an expansion of an existing brewery identity, not a one-off pop-up.

The address itself has become a useful barometer for downtown Elizabethtown’s beer economy. The borough says the town has about 11,545 residents and places historic downtown roughly 10 miles south of Hershey and 20 miles from Harrisburg, Lancaster and York. Moo-Duck Brewery at 79 S. Wilson Ave. keeps another local taproom in the mix, and Lancaster County Brewers Guild says the county has more than 20 breweries and more in the making. At 28 S. Market St., Inspiration Brewing now inherits a room that has already proved it can matter.