Four Peaks Brewing Co. Selects Second Brewing Facility Site
Media Contact: Stacy Pearson | Up Agency | 602 577 6888 | stacy@writetoup.com
TEMPE, ARIZ. – Oct. 19, 2011 – Sometimes, all roads lead to home.
After an exhaustive search for a second brewing location, Arizona’s largest and most popular craft brewery leased an industrial property in Southern Tempe and will be brewing more of its ever-popular beer by next summer.
But Four Peaks isn’t closing the door on potential new restaurant sites throughout the Valley.
“We scoured the Valley for a historic production facility with quintessential Four Peaks character and the infrastructure necessary to be operational in the timeframe we needed,” said Four Peaks Co-Owner Jim Scussel. “There were a number of properties in Phoenix, Scottsdale and Mesa on our short list, but unfortunately remediation of every one of the historic properties would have taken longer than was possible for us.”
Four Peaks’ craft beer popularity and its position as Arizona’s favorite local brewery accelerated the search. In fact, demand for Four Peaks’ craft beer will reach 40,000 barrels in 2012, which is capacity at their facility in the historic creamery at 8thStreet and Dorsey in Tempe.
“We simply need to make more beer, ASAP,” said Co-Owner Andy Ingram. “This second location gives us the room to be creative and experimental, and add new varieties to our award-winning lineup.”
Four Peaks Pumpkin Porter has amassed a cult following. More seasonal and specialty beers will be introduced after the second production facility is operational.
“We are happy to have the new Four Peaks brewing facility in Tempe and will work with Andy and Jim to find new ways to continue the outstanding partnership with this hometown brewery,” said Tempe Mayor Hugh Hallman. “We consider Four Peaks to be a part of Tempe’s vibe and a great corporate partner.”
The new facility, located near Broadway Road and Hardy Drive, will initially create 20 jobs and will cost more than $3 million when complete. The lease was signed Oct. 17.
“To accommodate Four Peaks’ aggressive timeline, we moved quickly to negotiate a lease and have already begun improvements to the building,” said Mike Sacco, Vice President of EastGroup Properties, which owns the building. Four Peaks was represented in the ten-year lease by Anthony Nocifera, Principal with Abitare Realty Advisors & Investment Corp. EastGroup was represented by Curtis Brown and Bob Crum of Ross Brown Partners.
As background, Four Peaks issued a request for proposals for suitable sites. More than 25 sites were submitted, including Downtown Phoenix warehouses and the famed Sunkist Facility in Mesa. Four Peaks toured the preferred facilities in Summer 2011 and sought the advice of adaptive reuse experts to determine the scope of the renovations necessary.
The new Tempe facility, though not a historic property, had the shortest development timeline and from a logistical standpoint, works well with the current facility.
“Tempe is home,” Scussel said. “We’re proud of our history in Tempe and look forward to additional opportunities.”
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