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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe Greenwood Redevelopment Commission on Tuesday approved a tax-increment financing plan for a business group that wants to build a $7 million alcohol distillery, brewery and restaurant on a 12-acre site along Main Street, east of Interstate 65.
Plans for the Dragon Rock Distillery project call for 37,000-square-foot building housing a craft distillery, brewery, warehouse and small-plates restaurant. Outdoor seating and a tasting room also are planned.
The Greenwood RDC gave the green light to $170,000 in TIF funds to help pay for an access road and sidewalks at the site at the southeast corner of Main and Commerce Parkway East Drive.
Dragon Rock Distillery owner Dave Hunter, also the owner of Indianapolis-based Blackthorne Distillery LLC, said small parts of the land will be used to grow corn, rye, wheat and barley that will be distilled into spirits. The business will offer public tours to show how the distillery process works.
“We’re much more than a distillery, brewery and restaurant operation,” Hunter said a written statement. “This is going to be a destination, drawing visitors from around the region. The craft distillery industry is still very much in its infancy, and we anticipate growth similar to craft breweries. It’s an ideal time to launch Dragon Rock Distillery.”
Hunter said the business is expected to have more than 50 employees once it is fully operational after it opens in early 2018. Construction should begin later this year or the first quarter of 2017.
Greenwood Mayor Mark Myers said Dragon Rock will add to Greenwood’s growing reputation as a destination for craft alcohol.
“Greenwood is home to Oaken Barrel Brewing Co., one of the first craft breweries in central Indiana,” Myers said in written comments. “More recent additions include Mashcraft Brewing and Planetary Brewing, and just down the road we have Mallow Run Winery and Taxman Brewing Co.. The industry has really taken off on the south side, and others are noticing Greenwood’s appetite for locally produced beer, wine and spirits. Dragon Rock is going to be a great addition to this area.”
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