Plans to restart old Coors brewery could bring 500 jobs to Memphis

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Memphis Mayor A C Wharton confirmed Wednesday that a Wisconsin-based brewer will buy the old Coors plant and spend millions to restart it.
Plans to rejuvenate the Coors beer bottling plant could create up to 500 new jobs.
“It’s a great day for the Hickory Hill neighborhood,” said Wharton. “Just a great, great day.”
Wharton was joined by, among others, exuberant executives from Wisconsin-based City Brewing, LLC. The company plans to purchase Hardy Bottling Company on East Raines for $30 million.
“Many of our customers are growing at the rate of 15 to 20 percent a year,” said City Brewing President and CEO George Parke. “The volume will come to Memphis.”
What will be known as Blues City Brewery will eventually hire up to 500 new employees who will make, on average, more than $40,000 a year.
“These are real jobs, available to real people, right here in Memphis,” said Wharton.
Once a bottler of brands like Schlitz and Coors, City Brewing is prohibited from disclosing which brands will be bottled on a contract basis when operations ramp up again, possibly as soon as this summer.
Like other companies that have recently announced plans to move to Memphis, City Brewing received tax breaks officials said will eventually be paid back many times over.