Jim Markle
Hanover, PA (USA)
Role(s):
Founder/Owner/Principal
Hanover Brewing Co., LLC
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Startup
Location:
Hanover
Industry:
Food Service/Restaurant
Year Founded:
2006
Number Employees:
10-50 people
Description:
The property at 600 West Elm Avenue in Hanover, PA
was purchased and is planned for use as the Hanover
Brewing Co. (here forth HBC). Built in 1892, this
brick warehouse with magnificent construction and a
storied past provides the perfect setting for its future
use. Plans include a brewery, restaurant, bar, outdoor
beer garden, and a beer hall for public events and
private banquets to be launched at this historic
location. The appearance and character of the
property provide an atmosphere with which few other
buildings can compare. The size (over 34,000 square
feet) lends itself to this business use with plenty of
room for future brewery expansion. The fast growing
craft beer market provides key strategic opportunities
for outward growth.
HBC will be classified as a brewpub, a term that the brewing and restaurant industries use to define breweries with
restaurants, or restaurants that contain breweries, depending on how you view it. Brewpubs are hybrid businesses
that are part of the restaurant industry and part of the craft beer industry, the fastest growing segment of the total beer industry. Craft beer in the U.S. has seen incredibly strong 12% volume growth in each of the past two years after solid growth for several years prior. Sales growth in dollars has been over 17% in each of these years, by far the highest growth of all beverage alcohol segments (domestic non-craft = 1.2%; import beer = 1.4%; wine = 3.4%; and spirits = 2.4%). This is just one of the reasons why over 96% of the 962 brewpubs operating in the U.S. at the end of 2006 are still operating successfully in 2008.