Hannah Oscar spent six years serving customers at Tuned Up Brewery.
Chris Hess first got to know his neighbors while tending bar there after moving to Spring City.
Jared Biddy started performing there as a musician before becoming an occasional bartender and hosting the brewery's open mic nights.
When founder Clint Tichnell decided last year that it was time to sell the business, the three already knew what Tuned Up meant to regular patrons, local artists, and the broader Spring City community.
They knew they weren't going to let it disappear.
"We don't want this place to close," Oscar recalled thinking. "We don't want to lose this place. We don't want the community to lose this place."
The trio purchased the brewery from Tichnell in August 2025 and, after months of regulatory delays, reopened Tuned Up under its new ownership in April. Tichnell still owns the building and remains actively involved in brewing, barbecuing, booking music, and mentoring the new ownership team.
The new leadership reflects the people Tuned Up serves, as all three owners are Spring City residents. They take pride in the fact that the brewery is female- and veteran-owned. Hess served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 2004 to 2012, including a deployment to Iraq. Oscar, now 23, believes she may be the youngest female brewery owner in the country based on her own research of industry publications.
For the three owners, preserving what made Tuned Up special mattered just as much as keeping the taps flowing.
"It's a staple of the community," Hess said. "It was my way of meeting the community, and I just didn't want to lose that."
A Culture Worth Saving
Over the past decade, Tuned Up has developed a reputation as more than just a brewery.
Without televisions competing for attention, conversations often begin between strangers. Open mic nights welcome poets, comedians, and new performers just as readily as seasoned musicians. For many aspiring artists, Tuned Up is where they first share their work with a live audience.
Oscar describes it as a place where people can simply be themselves.
"You can be a little weird here, and that's okay," she said with a laugh. "Everyone's a little weird here."
That welcoming atmosphere, she said, has helped countless people embrace who they are — including herself.
"I kind of grew up here," Oscar said. She started working at Tuned Up as a quiet teenager. "This place gave me the ability to come out of that shell, and I've seen that happen with a lot of other people."
Biddy, who has performed at Tuned Up for years, said the brewery has become a rare home for original musicians and creative people looking for an accepting environment.
"There’s not a lot of places to play if you're an original artist," he said. "We've always welcomed original music."
Tuned Up has also become an important part of Spring City's growing identity as a destination for live music. Main Street is home to George's Music, which has supported generations of local musicians through lessons and instrument sales, while nearby The Gem Music Hall has been expanding its lineup of regional and national performers. Punch Buggy Brewing, which opened its Main Street taproom in June, regularly hosts live acoustic music on weekends.
The Gem's Wednesday night open mic takes place just a short walk from Tuned Up's Wednesday open jam session, and the owners say it's common for musicians to bounce between the two throughout the evening.
"I feel like we both do a good job of trying to cross-promote the other one," Oscar said. "Because in the long run, it benefits both of us if the music community around here knows about this area and knows about these places."
Getting Back in Business
The ownership transition wasn't immediate.
Although the sale closed last August, the brewery remained out of operation for months while the new owners worked through federal and state licensing requirements. Hess said the process was complicated by delays stemming from a federal government shutdown and the lengthy approval process required before they could legally brew or sell beer.
The hardest part, Oscar said, wasn't the paperwork.
"It was all the members of the community reaching out and asking how everything was going," she said. "They'd say, 'We can't wait for you to be open.' We couldn't wait either."
When Tuned Up finally reopened in April, the response exceeded their expectations.
"The first night we were open, seeing so many people in here that truly cared about this place was an incredible feeling,” Oscar said. “It made it all worth it."
Many longtime customers were equally happy to learn Tichnell hadn't disappeared. According to the new owners, Tichnell intentionally chose buyers who would preserve the brewery's culture rather than reinvent it.
"This place was his baby for 10 years," Oscar said. "He didn't want someone to come in here and take it apart."
Today, Tichnell can still be found assisting with operations at the brewery and engaging with customers.
"He taught us everything we know," Oscar said.
Tichnell, who co-founded Tuned Up in 2016 before becoming its sole owner, said he wants the spotlight to remain on Oscar, Hess, and Biddy, but he's happy to continue helping behind the scenes.
"I'm proud of them for taking over," he said. "I want to be there for whatever they need."
Expanding the Vision
The brewery's weekly schedule remains largely unchanged, with karaoke on Mondays, trivia on Tuesdays, open jam sessions on Wednesdays, an open mic on Thursdays, and live music throughout the weekend.
The team is also planning more special events, including a Halloween in July Costume Karaoke party this Friday, July 31.
Biddy said the Wednesday night jam sessions remain one of the brewery's defining traditions, bringing together musicians of all experience levels to perform with people they've often never met before.
"It's a very non-judgmental environment," he said.
Looking ahead, the owners are planning a new lounge-style room in the rear of the brewery featuring quieter seating, vinyl record listening, tabletop gaming, art events, and additional space for private gatherings. They also hope to begin distributing Tuned Up beer to more local bars and restaurants as production increases.
The group says growth is important, but not at the expense of what has always made Tuned Up unique.
"We're not trying to do a complete makeover of this place," Biddy said. "We wanted to keep the heart of Tuned Up."
For Hess, the brewery's future remains tied to the same feeling that first drew him through its doors.
"It's just such a welcoming atmosphere," he said. "You come in as a stranger, and you leave as friends."
Tuned Up Brewery, located at 135 N. Main Street in Spring City, is open Monday through Saturday, 5 p.m. to midnight.
