Hopkinsville Brewing Co. owners Kate Russell and Joey Medeiros have purchased the auto body shop building that adjoins the brewery on Fifth Street. They hope to complete renovations and be in the expanded space by late fall.
How long it takes will depend on federal permits and construction, Russell said. The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, known as the TTB, will have to approve changes at the brewery because the body shop building is technically a different address.
However, the two buildings are connected, and Russell said an opening will be cut through the walls to connect the spaces.
The real estate closing was Thursday, and Upton Body Shop will remain in the building for one more week.
“We need to get in there and do some demo,” Russell said. “I would love to have an open house and let people see it before we bring in the sledge hammers.”
New electrical systems and plumbing will be needed. The extra space will allow the brewery to increase its production. The space will be open to customers but much of the area will be devoted to production.
“Now we’ll be able to brew while people are in the building,” Russell said.
With the current set-up, that’s not possible. So the brewery is closed to customers on Monday and Tuesday, which are brew days. In mid-January, the Hopkinsville Board of Zoning Adjustment approved a conditional use permit for the brewery to expand.
Hopkinsville Brewing opened in September 2016.
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. She spent 30 years as a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition.
