A Franklin brewery has closed less than two years after opening in a renovated shopping center on the east side of the city.
Hoosier Brewing Co., which opened in late 2016, recently closed, city officials said. Owner Brian Nentrup could not be reached.
The brewer had moved from Shelby County to a shopping center off King Street, just west of Interstate 65, brewing and serving its own beers and food.
In 2016, members of the Franklin Redevelopment Commission approved a $138,000 grant to remodel and equip the new brewery location. Nentrup met the requirements of the grant and will not be required to pay any money back, redevelopment commission president Bob Heuchan said.
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According to the agreement, construction had to be completed within two years of the agreement being finalized. The agreement did not require the business to remain open a certain period of time, according to the paperwork filed with the city.
Nentrup did not own the space, but leased it from the property owner, Heuchan said. The money the city board invested, which comes from property tax dollars collected from businesses in certain parts of the city, went into the building, he said.
City officials did their due diligence to look into Nentrup’s operations in Shelby County, where he had success, Heuchan said.
Unfortunately, his venture here did not work out, Heuchan said.
“He gave it a go and it didn’t work,” Heuchan said.
Heuchan did not know what the property owner’s plans for the building are now, he said.
When Nentrup first approached the city to bring in the new brewery, his hope was to eventually expand his brewing operations in the city. A few months later, he reached a deal with Meijer stores to sell his beers, and then expanded plans for how much space would be needed at the shopping center where he was locating.
Nentrup later asked for another $55,000 to finish the inside of the building and buy equipment needed for kitchen and brewing operations, but withdrew the request after members of the city board raised questions about his personal financial investment in the project.
At the time, Nentrup said he would use his own funds to finish the building, and then consider returning to the city board for additional funding in the future when he hoped to expand his brewing operations.
