Thinking of opening a brewery? The town of Brownsburg wants you

For anyone that doesn’t know the history of Brownsburg, IN, it was a small bedroom community 8 miles west of Speedway on I-74. The majority of the town was comprised of baby boomers with high end blue collar or white collar jobs in Speedway, Indianapolis, Carmel, etc. Those residents wanted to keep the burg small and allow Brownsburg to stay Brownsburg. As time has passed two bypasses have been built, a new I-74 exit is now open, new industry has moved to town on the bypasses, and new jobs have opened. Brownsburg appears to be a town with a bright future.

Since the day I found out Scotty’s Brewhouse was opening in Brownsburg, I couldn’t wait for a brewery to announce they would open in our little town!  As time went by I heard rumors like Brownsburg was not brewery friendly and did not want one. I heard the town council was not inclined to work with such businesses because they felt it would bring a less than desirable element into Brownsburg. I heard all kinds of crazy things that really bothered me as a resident of this little burg. The council works for the town, I am part of the town, and shouldn’t I have a voice in what MY town wants?  I decided to look into these rumors myself and use some of my contacts to get in touch with the breweries in question. As well, I felt that I should get in touch with MY town council and get an explanation!

I began contacting the breweries and asking them about the experiences they had with officials from Brownsburg. One owner told me they had never actually progressed to the point of talking with anyone from the town in an official capacity. Their biggest issue was with the costs of leasing or buying a place in Brownsburg. They found a more reasonably priced space with room for everything they needed in a location where no other breweries are in close proximity. In this case it was just a rumor with no merit.

I truly believed where there is smoke there must be fire though, so I continued my research. I reached out to a brewery in planning, Treble Brewing, because I heard they were working with the council and looking for a space to open in Brownsburg. I contacted Allen Brown, the VP of Sales, and we spoke a little about Treble’s plans for their future and the experiences they’ve had working with town officials. Allen and his partners had been working with the Economical Director, Greg Anderson, while looking in Brownsburg. Allen stated all of the interaction was pleasant and the package that Brownsburg was offering was very satisfying. Allen also stated that the reason Treble will most likely not end up in town is because the ownership group is leaning toward opening on the east/southeast side of Indianapolis. Allen likes the mix of Blue and White Collar crowds in Brownsburg and thinks that the town would be great for a brewery, and a brewery would be good for the town. Business is business and he and his partners must do what suits theirs best. So again, I ran into a smoking rumor just to find out there never was a fire.

I decided I needed to dig into the coals and find out if there ever was a fire at all. I emailed the Brownsburg council with my info and what I had heard. I was immediately contacted by Brian Jessen, council member, with a request to call him. Brian’s biggest concern was where I had heard those rumors because he was not aware of any breweries, with the exception of Treble, looking at the Brownsburg area, let alone being treated poorly by the council. We talked for quite some time about new projects in our town and what Brownsburg is looking for in the future. He explained we have a fairly new (within the last two years) council that is excited to bring more destination, locally owned, and unique businesses to town. There are a couple of medical centers that will be building facilities on the Ronald Regan Parkway in the near future. These jobs typically mean that a younger demographic will be moving to the area which coincides with the councils attempts to attract younger families to our growing town. This lead me to believe Brian when he stated that Brownsburg, and especially the council, is not anti-brewery. While not all change is good, I feel like this change is GREAT!

The new(ish) council is looking to change the previous reputation of our little town, while continuing to respect the past and the history of Brownsburg. Attracting new businesses like breweries could help Brownsburg become a destination for visitors. Having fun locally owned and unique businesses in town will also attract some of the younger crowd working at the new businesses on the bypasses to live and shop in Brownsburg. This is the demographic that helps towns like mine grow and thrive.  When I asked Brian for a quote he simply said “A brewery will be perfect for Brownsburg”. I believe that statement says a lot about a town with a previous history for resisting change.

If you are opening a brewery and are interested in Brownsburg, Brian welcomes you to contact him, any other member of the town council, or Greg Anderson, the Economical Director, with questions. I can tell you from my experience the response is very quick. If you are opening a brewery and have not thought about Brownsburg as a location keep in mind there are several races a year at IMS (they continue to add more) and the Grand National Drag Races on Labor Day weekend at Lucas Oil Raceway in Clermont. Our hotels fill up with visitors looking for things to do close by and I haven’t met many race fans yet that don’t like beer. There are many other benefits to my town, but I want to keep this article relatively short…

Keep drinking great beer and talking about it, I know I will!