Roll out the barrels.
That’s what Bold City Brewery will be doing at 109 E. Bay St. by September when the local microbrewery opens a second production facility and tap room.
The $124,000 project to install brewing equipment and build a bar and package sales area will be aided by a $28,000 five-year forgivable loan recommended for approval Wednesday by the Retail Enhancement Program Committee of the Downtown Investment Authority.
Three full-time jobs will be created at the brewery and tavern in its first year.
Brian Miller, co-owner and director of brewery operations, said he’ll make about 400 barrels of specialty brands each year at the Downtown microbrewery.
The tavern also will sell Bold City’s established brands brewed at the Roselle Street facility, including Killer Whale Cream Ale, Duke’s Cold Nose Brown Ale, Mad Manatee IPA and 1901 Roasted Red Ale.
Miller said he plans to close the tap room as early as 8 p.m. each day, so as not to compete with retailers in The Elbow entertainment district that sell Bold City’s beers.
Planned hours are noon-8 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday and noon-9 p.m. Friday-Sunday.
“We want everybody to be successful,” he said.
Miller, an information technology specialist and home brewer before he went into the wholesale beer business, said he and his family started the operation in 2008 with $250,000 from a mortgage on his parents’ home in Avondale and used equipment.
The business started in a 7,000-square-foot space along Roselle Street in Riverside and later expanded into an adjacent 30,000-square-foot brewing facility.
Miller said his mother inspired the search for the location with her stories about coming Downtown decades ago to shop at May Cohens.
That’s part of the concept behind bringing the brand to the urban core.
“A lot of people love our beer. If we can bring them Downtown to discover what else is there, we should do that,” he said. “We want to make Jacksonville proud.”
He also plans to work with the Jacksonville Jaguars. One idea is to invite craft brewers from cities of the team’s opponents to create limited-edition beers alongside him Downtown and serve them on game day.
The authority’s board is scheduled to vote on the loan May 18.
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