Upstate-based craft beer venture Growler Haus plans to open a new location in the Village of West Greenville.
Craig Kinley, who founded the concept in 2012 after spending two decades in the telecom industry, said he has signed an agreement for 2,400 square feet of indoor space and an 800-square-foot beer garden at 12 Lois Ave.
Kinley has targeted the first quarter of 2017 for the location’s opening. It will be his company’s fourth addition to existing sites in Anderson, Fountain Inn and downtown Spartanburg.
Four to five new jobs will be created as a result of the announcement, Kinley said.
“We’re absolutely thrilled,” he said. “The Village of West Greenville is an area that we’ve been looking at for some time. The energy and momentum in the community is something that we’re very excited to be a part of.”
Kinley has served as a vendor for events in the Village of West Greenville, a former textile mill community just outside downtown that has attracted a number of art galleries, retail shops, restaurants and other creative businesses in recent years.
“Up until the last couple months, the Village has had a lot of creative businesses, but not a lot of places for people to gather outside of Village-sponsored events,” said Katie Hughes, special events coordinator for the Village of West Greenville business association. “This will add variety, provide another place for people to come after work and on the weekends, and make it easier for us to attract more vendors.”
Marshall Mahoney, craft beer “Jedi” for Growler Haus, who is helping to lead the expansion in the Village of West Greenville, said he believes the decision is a win for the community and the company.
“We have always been groundbreakers when it comes to craft beer in local communities,” Mahoney said, “so the fact that we are coming into an area that already has a love for craft beer and a passion for growth leaves us with endless possibilities with what we can accomplish in the next few years.”
In addition to the new location, Kinley said Growler Haus will be rolling out a few changes.
The first change will be the launch of a new menu on Sept. 1 at Growler Haus locations in Spartanburg and Fountain Inn. The menu features a selection of tapas items, paninis, flatbreads and desserts.
It will replace the company’s current food offering by Greenville-based Table 301 restaurant group’s Papi’s Tacos concept, which will exit those Growler Haus locations on Sept. 3.
Kinley said he and Carl Sobocinski, president and owner of Table 301, decided to end Papi’s run at Growler Haus so Table 301 could pursue new growth plans for the taco brand.
The change in food service means Growler Haus will no longer be open for lunch Monday through Thursday. Instead, the locations will operate from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. on those days and from 11:30 a.m. to midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.
It also will enable Kinley to hire two to three more employees at each location to operate the food service portion of the business.
Kinley is exploring some other growth opportunities for the company. He said he sees potential in Newberry County and a few counties in the Upstate.
The owner has also started working with a firm to develop a strategy for franchising Growler Haus by 2017 or 2018 and adding another 12 to 15 stores.
“I’m very excited about where we’re heading,” Kinley said. “Right now we’re focusing on fine tuning our model, picking a community we want to go into and then picking the right partners to make that happen.”
For more information, visit: www.growlerhaus.com.
