City Brewing Co. in Wisconsin will buy a Memphis bottling plant, update the facility and begin beer production there this summer.
City is buying the Hardy Bottling facility for $30 million and will invest another $11 million, eventually creating 500 new jobs in Memphis, Mayor A. C. Wharton and company officials said. The company said the new jobs are expected to create an average wage of $41,705 per year and include a benefits package.
City Brewing makes and packages beer, primarily under contract, producing tea and energy drinks for large beverage companies. Parke said the company was looking for a third facility because its other locations in the Wisconsin cities of Latrobe and La Crosse are at or near capacity. The Memphis facility will be renamed Blues City Brewery.
The company is receiving a $5.7 million tax break over 15 years.
The plant was built in 1971 and has been owned by various brewing concerns since. A tornado damaged the plant in February 2008. It currently bottles only non-alcoholic beverages.