USA, IA: SingleSpeed Brewing Company to open second location in Waterloo

An iconic building in downtown Waterloo, IA is set to bring new life to the area, kwwl.com reported on January 23.

Hostess closed its doors in 2012 after the company went bankrupt.

While some stores reopened, the Waterloo bakery did not.

Now, a nearly $6 million preservation project is up and running in downtown Waterloo.

SingleSpeed Brewing Company in Cedar Falls plans to expand their operation.

Organizers say they will add jobs and bring new life to the area while embracing the community's rich history.

The project is up and running.

Cedar Falls SingleSpeed Founder, David Morgan, said that with a little hard work he plans to bring new life to Waterloo.

"Once I got the feel of not only what's in this building, but what's around this building we knew it had the real potential to be a real natural fit. We think it will be a really nice piece as this part of town continues to develop," Morgan said.

Since Dave and his team are trying to preserve the Wonderbread building, they have to make sure walls, floors, and even doorways are maintained to preserve the building's rich history.

"So, that'll take time, but in the end it's going to give us a product that we feel is going to be superior," Morgan said.

Morgan said he hopes to add more than 50 jobs to Waterloo while growing on their existing success.

"It will be different because it's big growth. We are going from 1,700 square feet over there to 35,000 over here. So, that alone is going to be different," Morgan said.

While working with the State Historic Preservation Office, Dave said he hopes to start brewing the beer in the new spot this year.

"We're going to make more of it, and I think we're going to be able to share it with more people, and that's kind of our intent there," Morgan said.

Right now, Dave said he's waiting on approval to move forward with more construction from the Historic Preservation Office.

He says that process could take nearly three months.

Organizers are optimistic the SingleSpeed Restaurant portion of the Brewery will open in 2017.

27 January, 2016