What better relief for a sweltering summer afternoon than a cold beer? Or two?  On June 23, over 100 ULI Triangle members packed the taproom and brewery at Trophy Brewing Co.’s new Maywood Avenue location just south of Downtown Raleigh.  Trophy’s co-owner David Meeker and brewmaster Les Stewart gave a warm welcome and introduction to their facility, followed by an overview and tour of the brewing process.  Bull Durham Brewing brewmaster Sebastian Wolfrum then kicked off a panel discussion on the Triangle’s brewery boom with an overview of what it takes to actually open a brewery—the “dollars and cents” of it—from the need for low rent space and the popularity of blighted and industrial areas to the impact of scale and the importance of a public taproom.

Sebastian was joined on the panel by Town of Wake Forest Mayor Vivian Jones and Grubb Ventures Director of Development Anne Stoddard, and moderator Jon Keener with The Lundy Group.  Mayor Jones recounted Wake Forest’s efforts revitalize its central business district with programming and infrastructure improvements, and how the opening of White Street Brewery coincided with a downtown renaissance.  The brewery, she said, became a presenting sponsor of the town’s hugely popular “Friday Night on White” event with up to 10,000 attendees.  It has become a destination that draws locals and visitors and has been embraced by both neighboring retailers and the nearby Southeastern Baptist Theological.  The brewery’s popularity has led to an increased interest in downtown development, and the Town has responded by assigning a single inspector to a project as a point of contact through the development process, speeding up downtown redevelopment.

Anne Stoddard offered her take on the brewery boom as a landlord and developer, and in particular the issue of brewery as anchor tenant.  The key, she said, is finding the right operator who can not only brew quality beer but manage the business.  Anne has fresh insight into what it takes to build a successful brewery thanks to her work on the Dock 1053 adaptive reuse project near Raleigh’s Five Points neighborhood—an area already popular with start-up breweries.  The Dock 1053 project, which has turned an old warehouse into a “creative community for makers, entrepreneurs, artisans, retailers and forward thinkers,” is anchored by the burgeoning Lynwood Brewing Concern.  Anne also talked about some of the development issues new breweries face—particularly in locations that were designed 50+ years ago for a different use.  Water quality is a top priority, and site plan requirements such as parking can be challenging.  And while popularity and success are great, they can lure other tenants to the area and raise rent costs.

The program concluded with some Q&A and a trip back to the taproom for another round (and some much needed A/C).