Ravinia Brewing Company response to questions and feedback post the recent amended lawsuit from the Ravinia Festival Association, and quotes provided in the Chicago Tribune article:

Ravinia Brewing Company continues to deny all allegations being made by the Ravinia Festival Association. With that being said – without further support, we are very near to a financial cliff that will prevent us from being in a position to prove that the law is on our side. The most recent quotes provided in the amended complaint stand as the latest example of world class lawyers and PR specialists leveraging out of context statements to support the ridiculous accusation that the Ravinia Festival Association has been harmed by our existence.

The amended complaint filed by the Ravinia Festival Association has already taken on a life of its own thanks to online agitators with their own agendas on both sides of the argument. Unsurprisingly, numerous misunderstandings have arisen from the recently published excerpts extracted from the 2017 RBC business plan, which was utilized in a loan application to the SBA. Excluded from this 53 page document in the publicly available updated filing made by the RFA are another 45 pages with multiple references to the collaborative efforts between the Ravinia Festival Association and Ravinia Brewing – along with RBC’s real marketing plan and focus on our core mission and value proposition of fostering Community, Craft and Creation. When reading the entirety of the document it is clear that a positive relationship between the two organizations existed in 2017 and was mutually celebrated as a benefit to both parties.

In fact, this was illuminated in RBC’s countersuit that references additional dialogue from this same period of time including a collaboration beer and joint marketing efforts for which both parties were engaged. One moment we remember fondly was Ravinia Festival Association requesting 600 cans of the beer to be distributed at Ogilvie Station to celebrate and kick off their 2018 season – with RBC present - imagine what could have been! It is unfortunate that out of context, selected excerpts from a period of constructive collaboration have been framed by some as a secret, hidden agenda. Context matters. Ravinia Brewing (like many in the Ravinia District), proudly celebrated its successful neighbors in the business plan as the Festival is not only a part of our community and fabric – but they bring beer drinkers and taco lovers to our community… it’s a win-win don’t you think?

Ultimately, the collaboration ceased in 2018 when both parties entered into a contract that would govern any potential future brand confusion. A contract that our recently filed suit in Cook County maintains should still be valid – and was certainly valid during the period in which the Ravinia Festival Association claims damages occurred.

At the end of the day – we continue to believe that level heads will prevail – but we’re running out of time. We are ready and available for a real conversation with real people to get to a real solution. It is time to put the lawyers and PR in the back seat and find a path to move forward before a point is reached that will be crippling for our community. Funny thing is… we also like James Taylor… maybe some common ground and common sense can finally come out on top. What say you RFA?