USA, SC: One of South Carolina’s largest breweries eyeing opening in the next two years

One of the least-flashy areas of Columbia is poised to welcome what could become one of the larger breweries in South Carolina, its owner believes, The State reported on February 19.

Scott Middleton, the developer behind much of the hearty revitalization in the heart of Main Street downtown, has purchased the 3.5-acre site of the former Stone Manufacturing plant on North Main Street in the Eau Claire community, where he plans to open a sports-themed brewery in the next two years.

Middleton’s brewery has the potential to spark a revitalization similar to the one he helped spur in recent years only 2 miles down the road. Middleton developed what’s now called The Main Course complex (formerly Michael’s Cafe and Catering), Good Life Cafe and The Grand boutique bowling alley in the now-bustling 1600 block of Main, with plans for new businesses in that area to roll out soon.

“I understand that in order for the rest of this city to continue to grow and expand, we have to do something with North Main,” Middleton said. “What’s going to immediately start happening is everything between here and (downtown) is going to start filling in quickly.”

The North Main corridor above Elmwood Avenue already has seen a slow but steady surge in new small businesses opening in recent years and catering especially to residents of the surrounding neighborhoods, including Cottontown, Elmwood Park and Earlewood.

“Our baby, the corridor, is becoming a child. What I’m trying to say is, it’s growing up,” said Sabrina Odom, director of the North Columbia Business Association, which formed about 13 years ago.

Odom credits Vino Garage, a specialty wine and beer store, with being one of the first retail- or hospitality-oriented businesses to take a chance on North Main, giving confidence to others to follow. And others have: the War Mouth restaurant, Indah and Curiosity coffee shops, Cromer’s P-nuts and Carolina Imports furniture store, to name a few.

The brewery, though, could bring a whole new game to the playing field. Odom believes it could go a long way toward making the area more walkable — thanks also to ongoing road improvements and streetscaping efforts — and attracting more “small, mom-and-pop businesses.”

“It is definitely a game-changer for our community,” Odom said. “This is really exciting for me, who’s been walking that corridor all these years wanting to see change and more business on the corridor. We don’t want to be another Vista; we don’t want to be another Five Points. We want to be our own small town within the city.”

Rosa Daniels, who owns Main Street Bakery a block down from the site of the future brewery, had not yet heard of the plans for the Stone site but is excited to welcome her new business neighbor.

“I think that the more buzz that we can get in this area, the better it would be for us that’s been here for a minute, because this area has been dead for a long time,” said Daniels, who moved her bakery to North Main in 2010. “I’m all for it.”

With 3.5 acres and nearly 63,000 square feet in the 3400 block of North Main, just above the intersection with Sunset Drive, the space for Middleton’s brewery is as big as his goals.

“At the end of the day, it will be one of the largest breweries in South Carolina,” the developer said. “We’ve got a theme to where we could probably be pretty big pretty quick.”

By comparison, Steel Hands brewery opened a little over a year ago in Cayce as the Midlands’ largest brewery, with 10,000 square feet of indoor space and 4 acres of property. Middleton’s future brewery building is about six times as large, but he also plans to fill it with much more than just spaces to brew and to drink brews.

Middleton’s grand plan includes indoor sports such as, possibly, indoor beach volleyball or a rock-climbing wall (though his daughter, a lawyer, has reservations about that particular idea). He said he also plans to have outdoor activity space — perhaps pickleball and basketball courts, a miniature soccer field — as well as more than 400 parking spaces.

“It’s just a huge space. These are all just ideas,” said Sara Middleton, Scott’s daughter and partner in development.

The Middletons already have hired someone to run the brewing operation, and they’re courting — and being courted by — prospective beer brewers, they said.

“Once he put the word out about what we’re planning on doing, he said he had some really good brewers that have been extremely interested,” the elder Middleton said.

Middleton’s brewery will join a fast-growing local craft beer scene that’s now at least a dozen breweries strong in Columbia and neighboring Lexington County — with more to come.

The next brewery on tap to open is Savage Craft Ale Works in West Columbia, which is eyeing completion this spring.

23 February, 2020