A Franklin brewery has withdrawn its request for additional tax dollars, and is planning to open soon.
City officials said the new location for Hoosier Brewing, located off King Street near Interstate 65, is expected to open in the coming weeks. The brewer is moving from Shelby County.
The owner is doing more of the construction work himself, in order to get the doors open, instead of pursuing a request to get additional funding from the Franklin Redevelopment Commission.
That work has delayed the opening slightly, but owner Brian Nentrup has been working to quickly finish the bathrooms, painting, kitchen setup and the bar, he said.
Once open, Hoosier Brewing will brew and serve its own beers and also serve food. It is opening in a shopping center just off I-65 that had been vacant for years and was recently remodeled.
Nentrup said he hopes to expand in the future and move the production side of the business elsewhere to have more space. When that time comes, he plans to go back to the redevelopment commission to discuss additional funding, he said. The brewer recently inked a distribution deal with Meijer stores to sell its beers, and expanded its plans for how much space would be needed at the shopping center.
In January, the redevelopment commission, which spends money set aside in the city’s tax-increment financing, or TIF, districts, approved a grant of $138,000 to remodel and equip the brewery location.
In July, Nentrup came back to the redevelopment commission and asked for another $55,000 to finish the inside of the building on King Street and buy equipment needed for the kitchen and brewing operations. Redevelopment commission members wanted more information about Nentrup’s investment in the business and Franklin location before awarding more money.
Nentrup withdrew the funding request, said Krista Linke, director of community development.
At the time, he had said the added city funding would allow him to open as soon as the end of August.
Now, Nentrup said his main goal is to get the brewery open with the funds they already have.
