Couple’s dream becomes hidden gem of Mt. Healthy

CINCINNATI (WXIX) - What started as a dream eight years ago is now becoming a neighborhood treasure in Mt. Healthy.

Betty Bollas and her husband started Fibonacci. The hidden gem is a brewery, a farm and an Airbnb all rolled into one.

Tucked away on Compton Road, you’ll find Fibonacci, which is one of the few urban farm breweries in the country.

“We have chickens, goats, honeybees,” explains Bollas. “We host our own farmers market every month. We use a lot of local ingredients and all of our beers.”

Bollas says it was her husband that inspired them to start their own business.

“My husband was a home brewer,” says Bollas. “I said, ‘You’re either done buying home brewing equipment, or we’re opening a brewery.’”

She says that’s how the idea started.

Then, once they noticed the flower shop, where they purchased their wedding flowers was up for sale, it seemed like the perfect opportunity.

“Because we live in this community, it was very important for us to open up a brewery in our own community,” explains Bollas.

Once you step on the lot, you’re greeted with a beer garden, which is filled with live music throughout the week.

Visitors also enjoy the distinctive tastes of Fibonacci, forever-changing small-batch brews.

“We have done a dandelion root porter,” explains Bollas. “When you roast dandelion root, it gives off a coffee characteristic and that coffee characteristic goes very nicely with a porter. We do a Thai basil, lemon and honey cream ale.”

Everything is made with fresh ingredients from local farms including their own honeybees.

Bollas, who has a background working with nonprofits, says it’s also important to give back.

“Mt. Healthy has a number of food insecurity areas, so we’ve been running a farmers market for five years now,” says Bollas. “We offer SNAP and Produce Perk. So, that’s a way that people can have a better access to produce.”

The nano-brewery also has a little free library, which has given out 1,500 books so far.

“It’s very much about getting to connect with people and knowing that what we’re doing is making a difference in people’s lives, Bollas explains.

While Bollas says she is now living her dream, she says it hasn’t been easy from being shut down during COVID-19 to recovering from a tornado that swept through weeks later in 2020.

But it’s a journey she’s proud of.

“It’s the hardest thing we’ve ever done and the most humbling,” says Bollas. “You think if you’re smart and you work hard that equals success. Well, sometimes that’s not always the case. We knew it was going to be a slow long growth plan and I feel like the last few years, we’ve started to see a lot of that connect and explode in a way.”

Bollas says while they want to remain a small brewery and farm, they are now working on adding food to their list of services. They are testing a simple menu focused on local ingredients.

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