VALDOSTA, GA (WALB) - On Thursday, the Valdosta City Commission will vote on a change to alcohol distribution laws.
Chris Jones and Jack Martin are planning to open the Georgia Beer Company in downtown Valdosta. They will be opening the city’s first brewery.
They’re a few months from opening and still have a lot of work to do.
“Hopefully that’s all going to come together in time for a late October, early November grand opening," said Jones. “One of the challenges we’ve faced here in Valdosta is being the first brewery, there wasn’t even a license category in the city’s ordinances to cover us.”
But the two have continued in the process.
They believe they have found the perfect location, near the corner of Hill Avenue and South Briggs Street.
“From the minute we saw this building, we knew it was the one. It looked like it was built to be a brewery 100 years ago,” said Jones.
For the past four months, the team has been focusing on renovating and preparing the building.
Now, the brewing equipment has arrived.
“We’re moving it from the warehouse, just up the street and placing it into position here in the brewery,” said Jones.
And soon, the Georgia Brewing Company expects to open.
“We look forward to providing the locals with something to drink they’ve never had before,” said Jones.
A move they believe is long overdue.
“The average American lives within ten miles of the nearest brewery and that’s in the country as a whole, not so much in South Georgia,” said Jones.
Not only are they the first brewery in the area, but they will be the first microbrewery, which means they can both brew and sell alcohol.
“Microbreweries in Georgia, not just South Georgia, are becoming more popular. We’ve seen that across the nation as a trend,” said City Spokesperson Ashlyn Becton.
And the city council is excited to bring this new trendy business to the area.
“They’re keeping that historic preservation in the downtown area. They’re also going to drive a lot of people off of 75 so we’re going to get tourism, a lot of dollars poured into the downtown economy as well. So, this will be a really good thing for our community,” said Becton.
The Georgia Beer Company looks forward to educating those who have never had the type of beer they will be brewing.
On Tuesday, the Georgia Beer Company also gave a presentation before the city council regarding the changes to that law.
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