Stone Brewing to locate first East Coast facility in Richmond

It’s official. San Diego-based Stone Brewing Co. will invest $74 million to open its first East Coast production facility in Richmond. The venture is expected to create more than 288 jobs.

“I have that feeling in my heart like we made the right choice,” Steve Wagner, Stone Brewing’s president and co-founder, said at the announcement ceremony held Thursday outside the Executive Mansion in Richmond. “This is so great.”

The River City beat out two other finalists — Norfolk and Columbus, Ohio, to land the major craft brewery. Roanoke also was in the top five. Overall, Stone received more than 200 requests for proposals and made 40 site visits.

Stone Brewing’s facility will include a brewery, packaging hall, restaurant, gardens and retail store in the city’s Greater Fulton neighborhood. The facilities will be built in phases, with the brewery expected to be in operation in late 2015 or early 2016.

In its first year, the brewery expects to produce 120,000 barrels of beer. That will almost double the barrels of craft beer produced in Virginia last year (130,000). According to the Brewers Association, Virginia currently has 72 craft breweries operating, up from 58 in June 2013.

Gov. Terry McAuliffe approved a $5 million Governor’s Opportunity Fund grant for the project. Stone Brewing also will be able to receive a grant up to $250,000 from the Governor’s Agriculture and Forestry Industries Development Fund, depending on its procurement and its use of Virginia grown products. The company will also receive benefits from the Virginia Enterprise Zone Program as well as  funding and services from the Virginia Jobs Investment Program for employee training. The  city’s incentive package is even bigger, totaling more than $30 million. It includes $23 million in bonds for the facility’s construction, $8 million in bonds for Stone Brewing’s restaurant and beer garden and $2 million in grants.

Stone Brewing is not the only craft brewery making a splash in the state. Green Flash Brewing Co., also based in San Diego, will break ground Monday on its East Coast brewery in Virginia Beach. According to Green Flash’s website, it expects to make an investment of $20 million in the Virginia Beach facility and hire more than 40 people.

Stone Brewing says it is the 10th largest craft brewer in the United States. Earlier this year, the brewery made the Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing private companies in the U.S. The company also is making its mark overseas. It plans to open the first American-owned craft brewery in Europe in late 2015 or early 2016. The company was founded in 1996 by Wagner and Greg Koch.

Michaele L. White Photo