E-Malt.com News article: USA, IN: King Jugg Brewing Co. to move into former Bolden Dry Cleaners property in downtown Noblesville

A craft brewery plans to move onto the former Bolden Dry Cleaners property in downtown Noblesville that the city and county competed to buy in an unusually pugnacious spat, IndyStar reported on January 14.

King Jugg Brewing Co. will invest $4 million to build a brewery and restaurant at 1 N. 8th St. along the White River and rent it from the Noblesville Redevelopment Commission with an option to buy, the city announced in a news release Tuesday.

The brewery will have outdoor dining, a basketball court near the entrance, a playground, a performance and dance stage and an attached bathroom next to the river and the Nickel Plate Trail.

Construction is expected to begin in late 2025 and last until 2027.

“The location along the White River and proximity to our downtown square, trails and Federal Hill Commons make it the perfect spot for the family-friendly brewery and a natural fit into our downtown,” Mayor Chris Jensen said in the news release.

King Jugg has a brewery in Broad Ripple and a Tap Room in Fishers.

Bolden’s was a downtown mainstay for 63 years before closing in August, 2023. When word of its impending closure reached government officials both Jensen and Hamilton County Commissioner Steve Dillinger inquired about buying the property.

Jensen wanted the property so it could be made into another business, preferably an eatery, and Dillinger so it could house a county courtroom.

Dillinger claimed he had a handshake deal with the owners to buy, but Jensen later came in and swooped away the property with a quick cash payment of $1 million.

Dillinger called the sale a “backdoor deal,” that he was “terribly, terribly upset,” about it.

“It is not the way government should work,” he said.

Jensen stood by his action, saying deals are finalized in contracts, not handshakes.

Nearly a year later the politicians sparred again when Dillinger blocked the mayor and city from allowing alcohol on the county courthouse lawn as part of the city's new outdoor entertainment district (DORA).

The district, which will include King Jugg, permits bar patrons to carry alcoholic beverages from one business to another and drink them outside.


15 January, 2025