New Resolution Could Open Commercial Zoning to Microbreweries in Downtown Muncie

Want to open up a microbrewery in Muncie, Indiana? Then I hope you don’t have your sights set on a fancy downtown location, because currently breweries are not allowed to operate inside commercially zoned areas. However, a new resolution could be changing all of that.

Muncie is currently home to one open microbrewery - New Corner Brewing Co. – according to the Brewers Association (Wolves’ Head Brewing is part of the Heorot and is thus considered a brewpub). Because the current zoning laws fail to show a disparity between microbreweries and large-scale breweries, New Corner is forced to operate an industrial-zoned area of town. They currently sit 10 minutes outside of downtown Muncie.

“There is no specific listing in the current ordinance for microbreweries and microdistilleries, and there is a big difference between those and regular, large-scale breweries and distilleries, which are permitted in our industrial zone,” Marta Moody, plan commission director, told The Star Press.

The new resolution will clear up the disparity, thus allowing microbreweries to operate in commercially-zoned areas of town, including downtown. New Corner owner Sean Brady told The Star Press that he plans to move the brewery to a downtown location once the resolution is passed.

The city-county planning commission has passed the resolution, but it still has to go through the city council and county commissioners for final approval.