Interruption Public House nears O'Fallon opening after homebrew roots

Interruption Public House & Brewery is targeting a May soft opening at 330 Sonderen Street in O’Fallon, with a 10-tap system expected to pour seven house beers as the former Good News Brewing space becomes its permanent home. The brewery was still waiting on one remaining permit, but the timing already marks a big shift from the small-batch, one-off releases that built its following.

That homebrew origin story still sits at the center of the brand. Donnie and Jen Cochran began brewing together in 2017 with a Christmas homebrew kit, then kept pushing the project from weekend experiments into a real beer business. Donnie later won the Good News Brewing homebrew competition with his Saison, and the beer was eventually brewed on Good News’s system in 2020. Another account says Donnie entered the contest in 2019, tied for first with his Summer Saison, and watched the July 2020 release sell out in days after it hit the one-barrel system.

That path explains why the permanent taproom matters. Interruption spent years operating like a nomadic beer label, building recognition through limited batches and special releases before landing a brick-and-mortar address in St. Charles County. Its own announcement said the brewery would assume operations at 330 Sonderen St. on January 1, 2026, after Good News Brewing ended its use of the building on December 31, 2025. The move gives Interruption something it never had during the pop-up years: a reliable place for regulars to find the beers instead of chasing each release.

The ownership group is also set up to keep the operation personal. Interruption is co-owned by Matt Fair and Laura Meyer, and by Donnie Cochran and Jen Cochran. The team is keeping the food program tight and beer-friendly, with wood-fired pizza, prime rib sandwiches, pastrami sandwiches, wings, toasted ravioli, and a few easy non-beer options such as cider and a build-it-yourself seltzer. “We’re working hard to finalize the menu, hire staff... and we’re waiting on one more permit,” Donnie Cochran said.

The opening also lands in a market that knows how quickly beer identities can rise, vanish, and get revived. O’Fallon Brewery shuttered in 2024, and Urban Chestnut later brought back some O’Fallon-brand beers, including Pumpkin Beer. Against that backdrop, Interruption’s debut is more than another taproom opening. It is a test of whether a homebrew-born brewery can turn a loyal small-batch following into a lasting neighborhood anchor.