Tampa Bay Brewing Company is looking to expand its horizons beyond its two current locations in Ybor City and South Florida’s Coral Springs. Tampa Bay Brewing Company, one of the elder statesmen of Florida’s local breweries at 18 years in business, has announced plans to move forward on a location in Ozona, just off of the Pinellas Trail at 133 Candy Lane. The opening would indeed be candy to local beer lovers, as the new facility would add a 15,000 square foot production area to the brewery’s toolbox.
There are a few hurtles to overcome before the new brewery opens. The location is currently occupied, and the Doble family, owners of the brewery have offered $1.04 million for the facility. Next, the new location is near a school, and a variance is required by the county. The variance was granted conditionally and the facility is moving foreward. According to the article in the Tampa Bay Times:
By the end of 2014, David Doble hopes to hire 75 workers for the Ozona location, including office staffers, production workers and servers. He’s hoping for more robust sales of Old Elephant Foot IPA and wants to add at least one more brew to his repertoire.
“We already have a name picked out. It will be called the Reef Donkey. It will have a secret selection of hops with a lemon/citrus and slightly tropical fruit aroma,” Doble said. “Anyone who has fished this area knows a reef donkey is a nickname for the amberjack, and fishing is a great part of this area. We want it to be all about our locale.”
via Tampa Bay Times