GOOCHLAND COUNTY, Va. -- Richmond-based Hardywood Park Craft Brewery is headed west. The brewery will spend $28 million over the next five years to expand operations in Goochland County. The expansion will lead to the creation of 56 jobs, the brewery and Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe announced jointly Monday.
Plans call for a 60,000 square foot brewery, packaging and distribution hall, a taproom, an amphitheater, an extensive garden and equipment to increase production capacity, the governor's office announced. The Goochland facility, located on 24 acres in the West Creek Business Park, will "complement" Hardywood's current 12,000 square foot facility near the Diamond in Richmond.
"Embarking on this next step is vital in achieving long term sustainability for Hardywood and reaching the goals Eric and I started setting for ourselves when we brewed our first five-gallon batch of beer nearly 15 years ago, and it never could have happened without the support of Goochland County and the Commonwealth," brewmaster and co-founder of Hardywood Park Craft Brewery Patrick Murtaugh said.
"We're extremely proud of the jobs and ongoing tax revenue we'll be able to create through this project, and we're confident we found the right home for our new brewery in Goochland County, Virginia," Eric McKay, Hardywood Park Craft Brewery president and co-founder, added.
Governor McAuliffe called the announcement "a great win for Virginia’s craft brewery industry and our ongoing efforts to build a new Virginia economy."
"We are thrilled about Hardywood’s decision to choose Goochland County for its new brewing campus and distribution facility. West Creek’s easy access, abundant infrastructure, and scenic beauty provide the ideal location," Susan Lascolette, Chair of the Goochland County Board of Supervisors, said. "Hardywood’s vision for its new brewing campus and distribution facility are perfectly aligned with Goochland’s commitment to attract and retain the best people and businesses while preserving our rural character."
Since its opening, Hardywood has quickly produced some of Richmond's most buzzed about beers. In 2012, Hardywood's Gingerbread Stout received a perfect 100 score from BeerAdvocate magazine - making its yearly release a red-letter day among local beer aficionados.
The Richmond brewery chose a wooded area off of 288 near West Creek for its second location over sports in Raleigh-Durham, NC, Chesterfield and Richmond.
“We got a built in audience there with Capitol One,” Patrick Murtaugh, one of the brewery’s co-founders, said about the new location, which is close to Capitol One’s sprawling campus.
“Goochland was the better option,”Murtaugh said.
He also said Goochland County and the Commonwealth came through with some enticing incentives, including tax breaks from the county totaling up to one million dollars, and more than one million dollars from the state in grant money.
Those incentives “really helped tip the cards in favor of Virginia and Goochland specifically,” Murtaugh said.
The new site will feature an amphitheater, a tasting room, and an extensive garden.
Capitol One employee Elizabeth Thomson said “that’s awesome” after learning about the new facility. She said it offers something the neighborhood desperately needs.
“Near West Creek you kinda have to go over to Short Pump where it tends to be more chains and that kinda thing, so I think it will be nice to have a place close by where you can meet up with coworkers and things like that,” Thomson said.
Murtaugh said the new location will most likely open in the spring of 2017.
