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James Rouse of Voodoo Brewing on Craft Beer and Community

May 13, 2025 by John Ray

North Fulton Business Radio

James Rouse of Voodoo Brewing on Craft Beer and Community

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James Rouse of Voodoo Brewing on Craft Beer and Community (North Fulton Business Radio, Episode 871)

In this episode of North Fulton Business Radio, host John Ray welcomes James Rouse, co-owner of Voodoo Brewing Company in Roswell. James shares his remarkable journey from a career in corporate sales and brand licensing to launching a thriving brewpub built around craft beer, creative food, and strong community engagement.

He opens up about what inspired the leap, how military life shaped his resilience, and why he believes success in hospitality is about people first. James also discusses what makes Voodoo Brewing unique—from doors on the ceiling to beer-infused menu items—and how his team’s attention to service and comfort has earned them a loyal following and glowing reviews.

Whether you’re an aspiring entrepreneur, craft beer lover, or business owner seeking inspiration, this conversation is filled with practical lessons and heart.

John Ray is the host of North Fulton Business Radio. The show is produced by John Ray and North Fulton Business Radio, LLC, an affiliate of Business RadioX®, and is recorded inside Renasant Bank in Alpharetta.

James Rouse, Voodoo Brewing Co, Roswell, GA

James Rouse, along with his wife Betsy, owns Voodoo Brewing Co. in Roswell, GA.

Voodoo Brewing Co. is a vibrant brewpub located at 1010 Mansell Road, marking the brand’s first entry into the Georgia market and its 24th location nationwide. Open daily starting at 11 am, the Roswell outpost offers a dynamic experience that blends award-winning craft beers, handcrafted cocktails, and elevated pub fare in an eclectic, welcoming atmosphere.

The brewpub features 24 craft beers on tap, including Voodoo’s renowned artisan brews, as well as a menu of beer-infused dishes and classic pub favorites. Guests can also enjoy various craft cocktails and a full menu, with options for takeout or delivery. The space is designed to foster community, hosting regular events such as live music, trivia nights, and other gatherings that encourage local connection.

Voodoo Brewing Co. is independently and locally owned and operated in Roswell, reflecting the brand’s commitment to immersing each location in its local community with custom logos, locally inspired menus, and consistent local events. The Roswell location is pet- and child-friendly, offers outdoor seating, and accepts a wide range of payment options, including contactless methods.

Founded in 2005 in Meadville, PA, Voodoo Brewing Co. has grown into a globally recognized, employee-owned brand known for its quirky personality, passionate beer culture, and dedication to quality and community engagement. The Roswell brewpub continues this tradition, aiming to be a go-to destination for both craft beer enthusiasts and the broader Roswell community.

Website | Instagram | Facebook | Beer | Food

Topics Discussed in this Episode

00:00 Introduction and Welcome to North Fulton Business Radio
01:50 Meet James Rouse of Voodoo Brewing
02:10 James Rouse’s Background and Journey
05:44 The Birth of Voodoo Brewing
09:11 The Voodoo Brewing Experience
13:18 Challenges and Triumphs of Running a Brew Pub
17:35 Crafting the Perfect Menu
21:39 Unexpectedly Amazing Fish and Chips
22:19 Craft Beer Infusions in Menu Items
23:17 Signature Burgers and Unique Menu Items
24:27 Pizza and Pub Pretzels: Unusual Brew Pub Offerings
26:05 Diverse Beer Selection and Barrel-Aged Flights
31:12 Craft Cocktails and Community Engagement
35:29 Future Plans and Upcoming Events
38:11 Location, Reviews, and Final Thoughts

About North Fulton Business Radio and host John Ray

With over 860 shows and having featured over 1,300 guests, North Fulton Business Radio is the longest-running podcast in the North Fulton area, covering business in our community like no one else. We are the undisputed “Voice of Business” in North Fulton!

The show invites a diverse range of business, non-profit, and community leaders to share their significant contributions to their market, community, and profession. There’s no discrimination based on company size, and there’s never any “pay to play.” North Fulton Business Radio supports and celebrates businesses by sharing positive stories that traditional media ignore. Some media lean left. Some media lean right. We lean business.

John Ray, host of North Fulton Business Radio, and Owner, Ray Business Advisors — **John Ray, host of *North Fulton Business Radio*, and Owner, Ray Business Advisors**

John Ray is the host of North Fulton Business Radio. John and the team at North Fulton Business Radio, LLC, an affiliate of Business RadioX®, produce the show, and it is recorded inside Renasant Bank in Alpharetta.

The studio address is 275 South Main Street, Alpharetta, GA 30009.

You can find the full archive of shows by following this link. The show is available on all the major podcast apps, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, Amazon, iHeart Radio, and many others.

John Ray also operates his own business advisory practice. John’s services include advising solopreneurs and small professional services firms on their value, their positioning and business development, and their pricing. His clients are professionals who are selling their expertise, such as consultants, coaches, attorneys, CPAs, accountants and bookkeepers, marketing professionals, and other professional services practitioners.

John is the national bestselling author of The Generosity Mindset: A Journey to Business Success by Raising Your Confidence, Value, and Prices.

Diane Lasek with ListenUp, David Washington with Kiplan Real Estate and Pat Tuley with Porter Keadle Moore

July 23, 2019 by angishields

Atlanta Business Radio

Diane Lasek with ListenUp, David Washington with Kiplan Real Estate and Pat Tuley with Porter Keadle Moore

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Diane Lasek is SVP at ListenUp Audio. She promotes the audio production and distribution services that ListenUp offers.

For most of her career, Diane has been involved in content creation, marketing, sales and distribution. Since 2014, she’s been busy building business partnerships for ListenUp. Visit our websites at www.lu.audio, www.listenupindie.pub, www.listenupaudiobooks.com

Follow ListenUp on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

David A. Washington is the owner of Kiplan Real Estate Consultants and Advisors, LLC., whose mission is to list, creatively market, and sell residential and commercial properties, while maintaining the highest level of professional confidence from the community.

A uniquely skilled qualifying broker and realtor, David has extensive background and distinctive expertise in addressing and resolving stressful issues surrounding real estate, including creative negotiations in residential and commercial properties. These include foreclosures, short sales, modifications, REO, financing, sales and property management.

David has been successfully serving the Atlanta community through real estate transactions for more than 30 years, assisting homeowners with creative solutions to obtaining the real estate of their dreams.

In addition, he has served the community for over 25 years with foreclosure defense, modifications and short sales and is an invaluable asset in the mediation process in various Georgia court systems. He received his real estate education from the Georgia Institute of Real Estate, the GA MLS Training Institute, Coldwell Banker Advantage School of Real Estate, FMLS Institute of Real Estate, Capstone Institute of Mortgage Finance, Century 21 Real Estate School and NCI Builders School.

He is certified in a number of real estate arenas, including being a Certified Distressed Property Expert (CDPE); Short Sales and Foreclosure Resource Certified (SFR); Brokers Price Opinion Resource Certified (BPOR); Certified Investor Agent Specialist (CIAS) and a Seller Representative Specialist. He is a member of the Atlanta Board of Realtors, the Georgia Association of Realtors and the National Association of Realtors.

Follow Kiplan on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

Pat Tuley has over 30 years of experience in public accounting. He has led PKM’s tax practice since 2003. Prior to that, Pat was a partner with KPMG. His experience includes leadership positions in both the Federal Tax Practice, and the State and Local Tax Practice. He has worked with clients ranging from individuals and start-up businesses to international Fortune 50 companies in the federal, state and local tax compliance arenas.

Pat leads PKM’s industry efforts in the Craft Beverage space and has successfully branded himself over the past several years as the ThirstyCPA. Currently the firm services more craft breweries than any other accounting firm in the state and hopes to expand our presence across the Southeast.

Connect with PKM on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

Dr. Ruben Boling, University of North Georgia, and Caleb Hearn, Opus Affinity

April 16, 2019 by John Ray

North Fulton Business Radio

Dr. Ruben Boling, University of North Georgia, and Caleb Hearn, Opus Affinity

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**John Ray, Dr. Ruben Boling, and Caleb Hearn**

Dr. Ruben Boling, Director, Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, University of North Georgia

With over 30 years of combined experience in business and academics, Dr. Boling has developed an expertise in the fields of strategy, entrepreneurship and management. During his business career, Ruben has served in leadership and staff positions for several major companies including Arthur Andersen, Georgia Power and WorldColor. He has also served as owner or co-owner of two different small businesses and as a key partner in start-up initiatives in larger companies and institutions. His managerial and consulting experience has spanned several industries and focused on enhancing or improving strategy, customer acquisition and retention, and operations.

As part of the Mike Cottrell College of Business and as Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Dr. Boling’s primary focus is to promote entrepreneurship and business leadership in the classroom and regional and international business community.

The Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation in the Mike Cottrell College of Business at UNG is a collaborative initiative that engages students, faculty and staff across the University, as well as communities within the region who imagine, innovate, start and grow new and existing ventures. The initiatives within the Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation are designed to spark entrepreneurial efforts become the go-to place for aspiring and existing entrepreneurs across the north Georgia region.

The University of North Georgia (UNG) comprises five campuses and almost 20,000 students. UNG offers more than 100 programs of study ranging from certificate and associate degrees to professional doctoral programs.

Opus Affinity, a student business founded by Caleb Hearn and Sam Herrera at UNG, provides a means for brands and individual to share their unique amazing stories through their application, unique code recognition software, and direct integration into existing product label design.

Opus Affinity was a top 5 finisher in the 2019 Georgia Inventure Prize Competition.

Jacqueline Welch with The Golf Club of Georgia, Mike Kipniss with The Piedmont Group, and David Craig with Tap & Six

December 12, 2017 by Mike

North Fulton Business Radio

Jacqueline Welch with The Golf Club of Georgia, Mike Kipniss with The Piedmont Group, and David Craig with Tap & Six

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John Ray, David Craig, Jacqueline Welch, Mike Kipniss, Mike Sammond

Jacqueline Welch/The Golf Club of Georgia

For nearly 30 years, The Golf Club of Georgia has established a reputation as one of the finest private golf clubs in North Atlanta. Their scenic and challenging Arthur Hills designed Lakeside and Creekside courses have been consistently ranked among the Top 20 Best Golf Courses in the state by Golf Digest. After a recent and comprehensive $40 million revitalization project, there is no other private club in the Atlanta area that has made such a concerted commitment to all members, future members and invited guests. The goal is to provide the utmost in quality from the course to the clubhouse. Coming in 2018, The Golf Club of Georgia will open the Cupp Golf Academy, a state-of-the-art golf instructional facility unmatched in the Atlanta area.

Mike Kipniss/The Piedmont Group

Since 2005, The Piedmont Group has helped you achieve your financial goals. They learn what is important to you, design financial solutions to help get you to where you want to be, and help you implement those strategies. They also keep a watchful eye as life unfolds to help make sure you remain on track for financial success.

David Craig/Tap & Six

Founded in 2017 by father and son team David and Ethan Craig, Tap & Six is Roswell’s first craft beer tap house and retail market. Tap & Six features 40 brews on tap to enjoy in a casual and relaxed environment, and more than 250 bottled and canned beers, 64-ounce growlers, and create-your-own six packs to take home. A diverse bar menu, lounge seating, and family-friendly neighborhood vibe makes Tap & Six the perfect destination for a true craft beer experience.

NORTH ATLANTA’S BIZLINK: Michael Lundmark with Jekyll Brewing

October 20, 2017 by John Ray

North Fulton Studio

NORTH ATLANTA'S BIZLINK: Michael Lundmark with Jekyll Brewing

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Deborah Lanham, Michael Lundmark, Nicole Sterghos

Michael Lundmark/Jekyll Brewing

The first brewery in the Deep South was founded on Jekyll Island in 1738. Today, Jekyll Brewing is proud to be the first brewery located in Alpharetta, GA. Award-winning Brew Master and Co-owner Josh Rachel provides creative direction for a lineup of craft beers that cover the global spectrum of brew styles.

Jekyll Brewing is intensely focused on hand-crafting sophisticated beers from the finest ingredients. They are passionate about the art of creating a great beer, the camaraderie of the craft brewing industry, and the joy of sharing it with all of you.

Wayne Baxter and Joe Dreher with Monkey Wrench Brewing, Anna Hopkins with Elevated Image and Connie Catalano with 31 Training

March 12, 2015 by Mike

Gwinnett Business Radio

Wayne Baxter and Joe Dreher with Monkey Wrench Brewing, Anna Hopkins with Elevated Image and Connie Catalano with 31 Training

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Gwinnett Business Radio - March 12, 2015 — Steven Julian, Wayne Baxter, Joe Dreher, Connie Catalano, Anna Hopkins, Mike Sammond

Wayne Baxter & Joe Dreher/Monkey Wrench Brewing

Monkey Wrench Brewing Co (MWB) is a craft brewery in planning for Gwinnett County, GA. This new microbrewery is launching as a result of the dreams and inspiration of a local home brewer Wayne Baxter and his fellow home brew friends. Now his team is taking this backyard operation to the big leagues and preparing plans for construction and launch of a new local brewery.

Baxter has been perfecting recipes for the past 17 years, collecting multiple awards along the way for beers like the Very Merry Monkey Ale. To compliment these proven products, Monkey Wrench boasts a powerful communications and marketing team led by in-house creative professional Joe Dreher plus sales expertise from local retail/distribution specialist Ashton Cheatham. Monkey Wrench Brewing has a rapidly growing social media following and has promoted at beer festivals across the state of Georgia for the last three years.

Monkey Wrench Brewing will handcraft Baxter’s delicious beers in limited, 30 barrel batches to begin. With a diverse portfolio of beers, spanning from IPA’s to Belgian Blondes to Imperial Stouts, the team plans to produce a staple of year-round selections along with special seasonal releases. Follow their start up progress as they “Wrench It UP a Notch” later this year with construction of a new brewery and fun tasting room.

Anna Hopkins/Elevated Image

Elevated Image specializes in helping female business owners and executives look great, feel great, and love their wardrobe. We work with clients to create a personalized style that brings together her life, her personality, and her physical features. Having a personalized style means that she not only looks great, but she is comfortable and confident in her new look. Her style is not only flattering, it is authentic to who she is as a person. Elevated Image offers a variety of services from closet edits, to teaching you how to dress your best, to full service personal shopping

Connie Catalano/31 Training

While working for a large training company, Connie Catalano ventured out to her clients to help them find answers to their business challenges only to hit a wall time after time with decreasing budgets. She would walk away thinking if only they could find some programs that met their immediate need and met their budgets as well!

After multiple attempts to work out some programs with her employer, there was no budging on prices and time after time she was walking away from companies who needed training. She had a client that she worked with years earlier who told her a story about how they started their company on the idea that they could lower their expenses and lower their prices and offer the exact same product as the bigger companies. They became successful overnight and managed to provide good paying jobs to many people. The success of this company never left Connie’s mind!

After much study and research, Connie started 31 Training and found a way to offer incredible training programs for less then half of what larger companies were charging and with more condensed sessions for quick results.