City of Anderson Writes Letter to Current & Future Breweries to Offer Incentives, Encourage Consideration of Anderson as a New Home

In an effort to attract current and future breweries to the city of Anderson, the department of Economic Development for the city has written an official and open letter outlining their desire for businesses in this growing industry to consider Anderson as a possible home. And it includes multiple incentives–such as prime real estate, guaranteed access to the required permits, and substantially lower costs for some of those permits.

The announcement of this letter is timed well with their 3rd annual craft beer festival, Anderson On Tap, scheduled to take place on Saturday, June 4th in the city’s downtown area at the Dickmann Town Center on Meridian Street.  The city of Anderson has partnered with Indiana On Tap to help them organize, promote and manage this year’s event. 

“One of the biggest draws for Indiana On Tap to get involved with this event was for this exact reason,” noted its Founder and President, Justin Knepp.

“The city of Anderson has a long and rich history and a large population of growing craft beer drinkers,” added Knepp. “It’s an ideal location and market right now with the full support of the city for any business in this industry.”

Included below is the content of the city’s letter, along with a link to the original document with the official city letterhead. 
_ _ _ 
​
Dear Brewers of Business,
 
Please allow us to extend a quick hello by welcoming you to the upcoming Anderson On Tap event. Through this, we wanted to let you know that the City of Anderson’s Economic Development Department is focused on investing in the various cultures growing throughout our city. The brewing culture is one of which we have recently focused on after seeing the passion and drive that comes along with the individuals and the companies who are involved.
 
One of our goals is to actively seek out these individuals and organizations that help build creative enterprises through the brewing and culinary arts. The craft beer community is definitely no stranger to those we want to attract, especially to the Downtown Florentine Art District.
 
To encourage the development of arts, cultural activities, and fine dining, the City of Anderson has established a Municipal Riverfront Development Project in out downtown. Through this program, business owners located in a specific area can purchase alcoholic beverage permits without regard to the quota provisions of Indiana Code 7.1-3-22 and at a price that is substantially lower than those permits available from traditional outlets.
 
In order to increase interest of breweries looking to start up or expand, we are doing our part by organizing the Anderson On Tap craft beer festival to help showcase Anderson and her local brewing culture. We feel that a brewery and the culture it brings will add to our local economy by increasing tourism, providing local employment, and supporting other local business and organizations.
 
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact the City of Anderson Economic Development Department. We look forward to hearing from you.
 
Kind Regards,
 
Greg Winkler
Executive Director, Department of Economic Development
City of Anderson, Indiana
765-648-6112
gwinkler@cityofanderson.com