A Nevada-based craft brewer plans to open a second brewery in Franklin to help it serve new markets in the Midwest and Northeast.
Joseph James Brewing Co. plans to operate the brewery at 9750 S. Oakwood Park Drive, in Franklin Business Park. The company will lease around 6,000 square feet within the Oakwood Commerce Center, a light industrial building.
Along with making beer and soda at the facility, the company plans to operate a tasting room and gift shop, according to Joseph James' application for zoning approval. The Franklin Community Development Authority is to consider the application at its Thursday meeting.
The operation will include brewery tours, the application said.
Joseph James is based in Henderson, Nev., near Las Vegas, where it opened its first brewery in 2006, said Matt Lisowski, vice president of operations and marketing.
The company has grown quickly, quadrupling its sales, and needs a second facility to keep up with demand while moving beyond its Western base, Lisowski said.
Beer and soda made at the Franklin brewery will be sold in Wisconsin, Illinois and other Midwest states, as well as such East Coast states as New York, New Jersey and Virginia, he said.
Along with being relatively close to some of those new markets, Franklin is a good location because its municipal water supply is drawn from Oak Creek, which provides "wonderful water" for making beer, Lisowski said.
He also said the Franklin building has enough room to accommodate an expansion if more space is needed.
And, there's a personal reason to locate the second brewery in Wisconsin.
Lisowski's father, James, the brewery's president, grew up in Milwaukee, and is a University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate. James Lisowski, an attorney, plans to move back to Wisconsin to help operate the Franklin brewery, which is to open later this year.
The operation initially will have around eight employees, with three of those transferring from Nevada, Matt Lisowski said. He hopes to be brewing around 15,000 barrels of beer annually in Franklin within three years, with around 20 to 25 employees.
While Wisconsin has dozens of craft brewers, this apparently will mark the first time an out-of-state craft brewer has expanded into the state by opening a brewery here.
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