Right Proper Brewing Company joined the growing list of craft breweries opening in the nation’s capital when it produced its first pint five years ago, and its neighborhood roots are now its strength.

Founder Thor Cheston says he’s always been in love with his hometown.

“One of the reasons why I love Washington, D.C. so much is it’s a group of individual neighborhoods, and each one of those neighborhoods, they all have their own identities,” Cheston said.

D.C.’s neighborhoods are incredibly distinct to the point where when you ask a D.C.-native where they’re from, they tell you the name of their neighborhood, he said.

“I could see that the city was growing. And … it wasn’t becoming uniform,” said Cheston.

“Neighborhoods were really latching onto their own identities, and that neighborhood pride was being bolstered and fostered. I loved it, and I wanted to be a part of it.”

Now that Right Proper’s facilities are set up in two different neighborhoods, Shaw and Brookland, the groups are starting to mix.

Cheston says he hopes his work in entrepreneurship, local brewing and craftwork contributes to a sense of honesty. “Some of the greatest compliments I’ve gotten are people who walk in… and they just get the sense of authenticity,” he told What’s Working in Washington.

“Everything that we put in place is there for a reason. It’s not there because we think we should, it’s not there because we did market research. We didn’t do a poll of what people want. We built a restaurant that we wanted to go to. We brew beers that we want to drink,” said Cheston.

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