Slow Body Beer owners ‘wear their values on their sleeve’ offering a safe space for all Tucsonans

Tucked between factories and corporate warehouses, Slow Body Beer sits just south of downtown Tucson. The noise of the nearby trains passing by and of cargo trucks moving product in and out of the neighborhood is drowned out inside by patrons.

A side patio features small tables tucked away between lush desert plants and a pathway leads to the back patio, where a stage routinely features local musicians and speakers. A large mesquite tree provides shade for visitors and the back alley is often reserved for a rotation of local food trucks. 

Along with its rotating beer options — including pilsners, lagers and IPAs — Slow Body offers shrubs with or without alcohol and a frozen alcoholic shrub similar to a slushie.

In just two years, Slow Body has become a community hub for Tucsonans, hosting everything from live music, movie nights and game nights to Spanish-language clubs, book launch parties and fundraisers and events for local organizations like The Florence Immigrant Refugee and Rights Project, Scholarships A-Z and Tucson Abortion Support Collective. They’ve also hosted a few weddings in the space. 

That sense of community is something that happened organically, according to Corey Shaver, who owns the brewery with her partner Lawrence Combs.

A lifelong Tucsonan, Shaver has been involved in organizations that support the immigrant community since she was in high school, volunteering with No More Deaths — an organization that provides water for migrants crossing the desert — and participating in the 2012 student walkouts protesting the state-ban on teaching Mexican American studies in schools.

When she and Combs opened up Slow Body, it was easy to offer up the space to organizers and continue to support local nonprofits.

“It was kind of, ‘here is a space, here is a vessel, here are my values. What do you want to do with it?’” Shaver told CALÓ News. Their values are apparent in many ways. The brewery’s website reminds visitors that they do not tolerate “racism, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, sexism,” adding that if people are making others uncomfortable they will be asked to leave. 

“This is a space for acceptance and compassion for all our fellow humans in this weird little world,” the note on the website reads. 

On a wall next to the register is framed art with the phrase, “Protejamos a los vecinos, no las fronteras.” (“Let’s protect the neighbors, not the borders.”)

Along with hosting events that support local nonprofits, Slow Body has also created a space that allows other small business owners and vendors to share their crafts. Like local food truck Ensenada Street Food, which was present during their grand opening party and have remained a regular since. Or like Holy Focaccia, a bakery and cafe that opened in the front of the Slow Body building. Separated only by a curtain the two businesses share the dining space.

‘Just come as you are’

For Carolina Silva, executive d irector of Scholarships A-Z, Slow Body has become a safe place where she often runs into someone she knows and a place where she can relax. It’s the kind of third space that welcomes everyone. “It’s peak Tucson vibes,” Silva said. 

Last summer, a local artist donated the profits of artwork sold at Slow Body to Scholarships A-Z, Silva said.

In August, Slow Body hosted a fundraiser in support of The Florence Project and the Juntos Fund, which helps undocumented families with direct cash assistance for legal costs or lost income if a family member has been detained. Scholarships A-Z is one of several community organizations that helped organize the fund. 

Since then, the organization has hosted two happy hour fundraisers at Slow Body. Silva said the events bring in supporters of the non-profit, but they also introduce the organization to regulars at Slow Body.

Silva said she continues to support the brewery in part because they’re open about showing their support for immigrant communities and other causes that she also cares about. 

“Right now, these are not neutral times,” Silva said. “The silence is loud. If you don’t say something about it, why would I go to ‘bar X’ when I could be spending my time and resources at Slow Body.”  

‘It’s always cozy in here’

Some mornings, Zachary Colasanto, a baker at Holy Focaccia, brings his pitbull mix Bagheera, who everyone knows as “Bug,” and lets the dog wander off-leash as Colasanto takes in the morning sun. Those early mornings, where he gets to relax in the space as if it were his living room, are his favorite. Sometimes he watches the sunrise at Slow Body, before getting his work day started at the bakery. 

“It's one of these calm before the storm moments, where we get to truly enjoy and appreciate the space for what it is,” Colasanto said.

Colasanto has always moved from place to place, but Tucson, thanks to Slow Body, is beginning to feel like home, he said. The opposite of snowbirds, Colasanto travels to New York City in the winter, where he has an outdoor lighting company and installs holiday lights and permanent fixtures. He plans to settle down in Tucson in the next few years. 

When he first visited Tucson to see his sister, Rachael Colasanto — who co-owns Holy Focaccia with her fiance — he struggled to make friends and find somewhere he fit in. In the last two years, Slow Body has become a place where he fits in. He’s befriended the bartenders and the brewery’s staff, as well as the regulars that frequent both the brewery and the bakery. 

“I think just being around the people, the staff kind of makes me feel like I'm back at one of my old jobs, or you know, just in a cozy place,” he said. “It's always cozy in here.”

A small TV with a built-in VHS player sits at the corner of the bar on a shelf, dozens of VHS tapes above it. An old movie is often playing at the bar, another one of Colasanto’s favorite things about Slow Body. Visitors can play Pac-Man or Galaga on an arcade table and play Chess or other games. 

Colasanto loves seeing how welcoming Shaver and Combs have been — to his sister and her business; to him and to the Tucson community as a whole. He said it’s been great to see the owners stand up for what they believe in and exemplify leadership in their community. 

“They wear their values on their sleeve,” he said. “They're not shy about what they support, and I think that that's a really beautiful and courageous thing to do.”

‘A space where everybody can be together’

Shaver and Combs met on Tinder in 2015. Neither of them had been on a Tinder date before they met at Che’s Lounge on Fourth Avenue. Shaver wasn’t trying to find “the one,” she said. She was simply looking to have some fun. More than 10 years later, the couple has moved across the country, always knowing they would come back to Tucson someday. 

Combs has been brewing beer for 12 years. He started brewing at Pueblo Vida in downtown Tucson. He and Shaver wanted to open up a brewery where Combs can have a “playground” to brew freely, Shaver said.  

“We found this place and we're like, ‘great, let's make this a spot where everybody feels like they can drink beer, learn about beer, hang out with their friends, enjoy the shrubs that our manager Parker makes, making a space where everybody can be together.’”

Shaver said they have learned a lot about running a business, most importantly how to pivot and adapt. She didn’t expect Slow Body to be as much of a venue, but as people continue to reach out to her about hosting events, it’s been “a joy” saying yes and figuring out how to host groups, she said. 

“It's been just as hard as it has been rewarding,” Shaver said. Neither of them had ever owned a business before, and learning how to run a business has been challenging. But friends and strangers often share stories about the joy they’ve experienced at Slow Body. 

On the stressful days, she pulls those stories out of her metaphorical pocket to remember why it’s so rewarding. 

“It feels really amazing, it feels very lucky and special and the people we’ve gotten to meet and interact with and all of our staff here,” Shaver said. “Lawrence and I alone could’ve never done this. It’s all of Tucson and all of our crew that have led us here.”

Stephanie Casanova is an independent, bilingual journalist from Tucson, Arizona, covering community stories for over 10 years. She is passionate about narrative, in-depth storytelling that is inclusive and reflects the diversity of the communities she covers.