Roanoke, Va., wins battle for Deschutes Brewery expansion

After months of deliberations and social-media campaign wooing by several East Coast cities, Deschutes Brewery announced Tuesday that it has chosen Roanoke, Va., as the location for its much-sought East Coast expansion.

A crowd gathered at the craft brewing pioneer’s downtown Bend brew pub Tuesday morning to watch a live video feed from Roanoke, where Deschutes founder/CEO Gary Fish made the big announcement.

Five cities were in the running for the facility, with Roanoke and Asheville, N.C., the leaders of that list.

Fish had said transportation costs were a key factor in the decision to build a new brewery on the East Coast.

Virginia Gov. Terry McAlliffe announced with excitement at Tuesday’s Roanoke news conference, “Deschutes Brewery will invest $85 million and create 108 new jobs here in the city of Roanoke.”

Jeff Billingsley, director of marketing for Deschutes Brewery, said, “From a production standpoint, it made a lot of sense. The location made a lot of sense, the community is a great fit, very similar to Bend and the history of Bend. Very outdoor culture. And just amazing people.”

The campaign manager for Deschutes 2 Roanoke, Michael Galliher, said, “All I can say is to the people of Bend, it’s nice to have a little piece of Bend in Roanoke, VA, and we hope you guys are as happy as we are.”

Here’s the company’s news release:

Deschutes Brewery announced its much anticipated decision on an east coast location today at an event in downtown Roanoke, Virginia. The growing brewery, which was founded in Oregon in 1988 by Gary Fish, has explored hundreds of potential locations in the region over the last two years. The company selected Roanoke based on several criteria including a culture and community that fit well with Deschutes’ decades-deep roots.

“We started Deschutes Brewery when craft beer wasn’t burgeoning and led with a beer style that wasn’t popular at the time – Black Butte Porter,” said Gary Fish, CEO and founder of the brewery. “This pioneering approach was a key driver behind our decision to go with Roanoke, as that same spirit exists in this community and its fast-growing beer culture.”

The future Roanoke facility has been lovingly dubbed “Brew 4” as it takes its place in line after the original Bend, Oregon public house (Brew 1), the brewery’s production facility in Bend (Brew 2) and the Portland, Oregon public house (Brew 3). Brew 4 will be located at the eastern edge of Roanoke with construction on the site beginning in 2019. Eventually, a little over 100 new jobs will be created for the region, and the new brewery will produce approximately 150,000 barrels to start, with a design to increase capacity as needed. Deschutes expects to start shipping beer from the Roanoke location in about five years.

“Roanoke is honored to be chosen as Deschutes Brewery’s East Coast location after a very thorough review of several communities in the Southeast,” said Roanoke City Manager Chris Morrill. “It is a company with a strong culture of community engagement, recognized for its craftsmanship and will be a perfect fit for Roanoke’s vibrant outdoor lifestyle. We are thrilled to welcome Deschutes as we continue to build a diverse, resilient economy.”

Deschutes Brewery chose to add an east coast location after the company’s distribution footprint (which currently includes 28 states and the District of Columbia) reached the east coast. By having a production facility on the eastern seaboard, the brewery will be able to deliver beers – such as its flagship Black Butte Porter – to states east of the Mississippi quickly and more sustainably.

Michael LaLonde, president of Deschutes Brewery, who was an integral part of the east coast location selection team, said, “Although it was a tough decision – we loved so many of the communities that we visited over the past two years – we are very excited to be heading to Roanoke. We love the region and everyone we’ve had the opportunity to meet and work with during this process has been incredible. We have absolutely been blown away with how the community rallied around bringing us here and has given us such a warm welcome. #Deschutes2Rke we’re on our way and proud to be able to now call Roanoke our second home.”

For more information on Deschutes Brewery in Roanoke, please visit our website here: https://www.deschutesbrewery.com/roanoke/