Dive Brief:
- Brooklyn Brewery plans to build a new, $70 million facility to produce its beers, and has its eye on a site outside of the borough where it was founded in 1988.
- The craft brewer is considering a portion of land on Staten Island that was once touted as the home of a NASCAR stadium for a 200,000 square-foot brewery.
- The brewer says it has no intention of closing its original Brooklyn facility, even when the new plant is completed.
Dive Insight:
Much has changed since 1988. Way back then, Brooklyn was cheap. The craft beer industry was limited to a handful of guys in their garages. And the young beer lovers that drink the stuff now were still drinking from sippy cups.
But you know what hasn't changed much? Staten Island. It's still the most suburban of New York's five boroughs, still has undeveloped land, and is still ideally situated for businesses that ship goods via the Interstate highways. And it's still more like New York City than Utica, which is where Brooklyn Brewery actually brews most of its beer today.