07/09/2020
Rose Ann paved a path for so many women in the brewing industry. Her energy and passion for life and all things food and beverage will be missed.
Remembering a Vibrant Les Dames Pioneer: Rose Ann Finkel
Sparkling smile and warmth. Innovative and instigator. Bursts of unabashed laughter. Always welcoming and aware of the world. A legend in her own time as Seattle’s first, and probably first in the U.S., woman in the craft brewing industry, Rose Ann Finkel passed on June 16, 2020. A longtime Dame, she leaves many full glasses raised and a vibrant life to remember and celebrate.
Rose Ann’s beverage industry involvement dates to 1989 when she and her husband, Charles Finkel, esteemed for his in-depth knowledge of wine and beer around the world, founded Pike Brewing Company, the city’s third craft brewery to open in this early local beer-brewing era. The brewery was a natural expansion of Rose Ann and Charles’ shared passion for wine, beer and specialty foods, a passion inspiring the dynamic duo to launch Bon-Vin in 1969. With its offering of specialty wines from small, typically family-owned wineries in Europe, California and Washington State, their company attracted the attention of Chateau Ste. Michelle, which bought the firm in 1974, prompting the couple’s move from Houston to Seattle. Once in Seattle, Rose Ann opened Gourmet Grocery and started Truffles in 1977, partnering with Marjorie Danz, as an acclaimed specialty food store and delicatessen in the Laurelhurst neighborhood. Both were two of Seattle’s first women-owned businesses.
Still enchanted with the beverage side of the food world, in 1978, Rose Ann and Charles founded Merchant du Vin to import craft beers from around the world, especially those from Germany, England and Belgium. In true style, Rose Ann developed menus and drink lists to assist vendors selling imported beers to their customers, plus sold the unusual brews in her retail stores.
The success of Merchant du Vin business inspired Rose Ann and Charles to establish Pike Brewing (its original name was Pike Place Brewery) in Pike Place Market in 1989. This was after purchasing Liberty Malt Supply, a supply store for home brewers established in 1921. On a lower level of the Market, their new brewery featured a four-story high copper kettle, plus a public house featuring classic pub fare selected for beer pairings. Guess who was behind the menu selections?
Taking a break from the brewery business, Rose Ann and Charles stepped away in 1997 for multiple travel adventures ranging from Italy to China, returning in 2006 to reacquire the Pike Brewery and Pike Pub. Under their direction, the brewery boosted production to offer more than a dozen award-winning seasonal brews, plus year-round stalwarts ranging from classic IPAs to pale ales and an extra stout brew. In summer 2017, Pike Brewery opened the Tankard & Tun restaurant on the ground floor of Pike Place Market, another showcase for beer and seafood from the Pacific Northwest. In 2018, when Rose Ann was diagnosed with MDS, a leukemia-related blood disorder, she and Charles elected to turn brewery ownership over to three longtime employees.
As a key player in establishing Seattle’s vibrant food scene, Rose Ann was also an early member of the Slow Food movement, kickstarting its launch and ideals in Seattle, plus judging at the biannual Slow Food Awards in Turin, Italy; serving on the board of the Weizmann Institute of Science, and actively engaged with the Seattle Chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier.
Always ready with a warm question of “How can I help?” Rose Ann will be celebrated as exceptionally unique and wonderful—and deeply missed.
