Newark once boasted of several large breweries like Ballantine and Krueger Brewing Co.
Now, two entrepreneurs are trying to revive that culture and get beer flowing back to the city.
Newark Local Beer, a micro-brewery, will open inside the renovated Walker House next year, providing unique and local flavors right in the city’s downtown.
“Newark has this incredible rich beer history that sort of faded as the city itself suffered,” said Miller Hughes, 43, who is opening the brewery with her husband, Steve Hughes. “We thought what an amazing time to start to bring that beer culture back.”
Newark Local Beer will open inside a 6,300 square-foot space on the ground floor sometime in early 2020. The tap room will fit about 190 people and also offer a private space for parties or events. About 1,000 barrels will be brewed a year.
“We’re going to focus on unique flavors,” said Steve Hughes, 44, who has home brewed for more than two decades. “Recipes will be constantly changing ... we’ll be flexible and small enough in scale so we can change at the tip of a hat. We’ll be able to shift very quickly with demand and interest.”
The Hughes live in Montclair and say it’s their first foray into Newark, where they’re looking forward to joining a growing downtown community.
“We are committed to employing and educating community members about beer brewing,” Miller Hughes said.
The Walker House, which was previously the New Jersey Bell Headquarters Building, opened earlier this year with 264 modern apartments. A rock climbing gym, Method Climbing, is also slated to open on the first floor.
Miller Hughes said the location was ideal to attract the commuter crowd and locals -- it’s close to the Prudential Center, Rutgers and has a built-in customer base upstairs.
“We’re really excited to bring this type of business back to downtown Newark,” Steve Hughes said. “We think it’s a great time. There’s definitely a void for this type of business.”
Anheuser-Busch operates a 1.7 million square-foot facility in the city that opened in 1951. But at one point, Newark was flush with beer production and counted on at least four other beer giants.
Karen Yi may be reached at kyi@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @karen_yi or on Facebook.
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