Jason Sandford
Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.
Asheville is one of several North Carolina cities actively courting Stone Brewing Co., another major craft brewer seeking to establish an East Coast beer-making location, according to wilmingtonbiz.com:
The Escondido, Calif., is seeking requests for proposals from folks east of the Mississippi, according to the story. Stone Brewing is a top 10 maker of craft beer in the U.S. From wilmingtonbiz:
Officials are scouting locations that can accommodate a $29 million brewing and distribution operation, with estimates that it will directly create more than 370 new jobs at wages ranging from $12 an hour to $48 an hour.
Stone Brewing Co. is looking for new or existing locations that can accommodate a 130,000 square foot building, with room to expand within or to an adjacent building to a maximum of 220,000 square feet, according to the company’s request. The site would also need to accommodate the brewery’s hospitality and retail operations, including an indoor and outdoor bar, kitchen, retail center and outdoor beer garden.
Besides publicizing the request on its website, the company has also notified various state economic and commerce officials about the brewery plans, including the N.C. Department of Commerce, Pruitt said.
Colorado-based New Belgium Brewing picked Asheville to be home to its new East Coast brewery a few years ago. Construction work is underway and it is scheduled to open late next year or early 2016. Also a few years back, Oskar Blues Brewery picked Brevard to be home to its new East Coast brewery, while California-based Sierra Nevada picked Mills River in Henderson County. All the breweries cite Western North Carolina’s pristine water as one of the keys to their decision.
Bring it!
FDR Stone isn’t a chain. If it were wouldn’t be paying living wage jobs.
FDR Stone isn’t a chain. If it weren’t wouldn’t be paying living wage jobs.
If it’s a product we can export, I’m for it. That’s the closest we’ll ever come to reclaiming some of the industry we’ve lost — and while I’m all for another dozen downtown hotels and another fifty pizza/taco fusion joints, we really need to bring something more substantial into our local economy.
“All the breweries cite Western North Carolina’s pristine water as one of the keys to their decision.”
Hope that doesn’t come back to bite them in the ass.
The water that comes out of the tap (the same water the breweries are using) is not pristine.
I think the municipal water supply tastes a little better in Henderson County vs. Asheville/Buncombe but they both have fluoride added. Not pristine.
Yes. And the combination of chlorine and fluoride is simply delicious.
Oh darn it, not another chain looking to come to Asheville with hundreds of jobs. The horrors.