Is it time for Craft Breweries in Elizabethton?

Craft breweries, wineries, and distilleries, these are the synonymous buzzwords for progressive and prosperous communities – the “cool” places if you will. After the “Great Recession” these types of businesses began to take off. According to the Brewers Association, microbreweries grew from 450 in 2008 to just over 1,400 in 2013 – a 314 percent increase in just five years! While small wineries and craft distilleries have not grown as fast, they are picking up speed with new ones popping up everywhere. This is evidenced just by looking at the number of local wineries and distilleries that have started within the past five to eight years.

While some of these alcohol manufacturers choose to locate in popular places (after all, who wouldn’t want to start a business in a popular location) other choose to locate because of local regulations and incentives. Elizabethton does not currently regulate craft or micro-breweries, wineries, or distilleries nor do we incentivize these types of establishments – but should we?

These small alcohol manufacturers play an important role in the economies in which they exist. Alcohol manufacturers (just like product manufacturers) are part of the export-base businesses in a community. Without getting too detailed, these businesses sell products (unique beer, wine, or liquor in this case) to people or businesses outside of our community. Those businesses’ or people’s money then comes back into our community through the alcohol manufacturer to be spent locally by their employees and services needed. Communities would become stagnant without export-base businesses. The best part about alcohol manufacturers is that they don’t need a big warehouse or factory to make a product just a small barn or large garage.

As I mentioned earlier, small wineries, craft distilleries, and microbreweries help make a city or a place “cool.” People want to visit areas with these types of establishments, which mean tourism. Wineries, craft distilleries, and microbreweries usually have some type of distinguishing local characteristic, whether it’s the local flavor of a wine, the background picture on the beer label, or the name of the distilled liquor. People want to visit these unique places, experience the unique flavors, and often unique buildings of these establishments. Once the visitor's experience is complete they leave alcohol purchases, lunch and dinner purchases, shopping purchases, and lodging expenses all here locally and return home.

There are always some cons associated with these establishments, after all these establishments do sell alcohol. However, this is something for us as a community to ponder as we look for ways to reinvent ourselves and liven our local economy. Let’s talk about it!