It's a common tale. A monster corporation seeks to increase profit margins and expand business at any cost, eliminating an important community arts space in the process. Frustrated citizens can only stand by as a national conglomerate destroys an arts haven they know and love, proving once again that money and might trump arts and community any day of the week.     

But as Fish Brewing Company looks to expand its warehouse capacity in a building the company leases, tearing out the famed downtown Olympia arts space known as The Loft to do so, the monster corporation isn't a behemoth like Wal-Mart. It's one of Olympia's own. And as a conversation continues over the importance of The Loft for the arts versus the expansion of Fish Brewing, many in Olympia are forced to pick a side.

Ross Cowman, a member of the show and art production collective Art Kitchen, is a vehement proponent of saving The Loft. He says the 6,500-square-foot venue - literally a loft that sits above the Fish Brewing Company and a former home to K Records, among other things - is important to Olympia and the small businesses, nonprofit organizations and artists that use the space. He also says Fish Brewing Company, founded in Olympia in 1993, ceased to work in Olympia's best interests the minute Woodinville-based Washington Wine and Beverage purchased a majority of Fish Brewing's shares in 2008.

"At that time the character of the company changed a lot," Cowman says, hinting that profit rather than community became Fish's number one priority. 

Cowman and others have taken a stand against Fish Brewing's desire to rip out The Loft's floor by starting stopfishbrewing.com. The website alerts visitors to Fish Brewing's expansion plans, has a list of nonprofit and community organizations that use The Loft and allows visitors to sign a petition urging Fish Brewing to find an alternative solution to destroying the space.

Cowman believes that as Fish Brewing seeks to expand, operations should move to a more suitable location outside of downtown.

"Downtown is the cultural heart of Olympia," Cowman says. "Does a beer production center need to be in the city center? Not necessarily."  

But Dave Vitt, the floor supervisor of Fish Brewing Company, describes a different set of realities. He explains that Fish Brewing not only requires more space to keep up with growth, but also a renovation of their warehouse. Vitt says the idea that Fish Brewing should find a different location is preposterous given their limited financial resources.

"We're a small company," Vitt says. "And it would cost $50,000 just to move the electrical components alone."

Tony Powell, the head brewer of Fish Brewing since 2003 2004, takes a more personal stance. He is angered that members of the community are so quick to dismiss Fish Brewing's needs. He argues that local beer is just as important to the community as The Loft, if not more so. Powell, a bearded, passionate man, is also upset that some community members are so quick to dismiss his brand of art.

"Their art is the only art that matters to them," he says, pointing upstairs towards The Loft. "What about my art? What about brewing?"

Tim Smith understands both sides of the argument. Smith is the operator of a business called The Loft on Cherry. Smith sub-leases The Loft space from Fish Brewing Company and is the contact man for artists and organizations wishing to rent out the space. Smith, an Alaska native, was informed by Fish Brewing this past July that the company was thinking of tearing out The Loft's floor in an effort to increase Fish Brewery's vertical warehouse space.

"I was torn," he says. "Olympia to me has always meant beer and music, and I was caught between the two."

Smith says his first instinct was to help Fish Brewing find a different solution to their warehouse problems. He says he desires to turn The Loft into a space even more vibrant, more widely used by the community than it is now. Even so, he recognizes why Fish Brewing wants to tear out The Loft's floor and agrees that growth for the brewery is a good thing. Smith ultimately understands there is no simple solution.

"It's not a black or white answer," he says. "It's all gray."