January 18, 2016
C. Smyth/Visit Philadelphia™
Carrying on Philadelphia’s centuries-old reputation as a great beer city, Yards Brewing Company attracts beer aficionados who appreciate high-quality, artisan brews.
Yards Brewery Company is looking for a new space — but it has no plans to let go of its Philly roots.
The beer brewer, founded in Manayunk more than two decades ago, has already outgrown the 40,000-square-foot plant in Northern Liberties that it moved into nine years ago. The company wants to find a space that's at least twice as large, so that it can up production from 42,000 barrels to 120,000 barrels per year, CBSPhilly reports.
However, the founder is determined to stay local. Three-fourths of Yards' employees live in Philadelphia, and the majority of vendors are within 100 miles of the city, according to the company's website. Founder Tom Kehoe told Philly.com that "it's important to a lot of our employees to be able to bike to work."
The company will move by 2018, when the lease on its current brewery and tasting room on Delaware Avenue expires. Yards is looking for a large space that's as close to Center City as possible, to keep up with the brewery's customer base.
"Look for the hipsters," Kehoe joked to Philly.com.
Yards is known for making beers inspired by the Founding Fathers and for environmental practices like using 100 percent wind power to support its brewery. Former partner Bill Barton split from the company before it moved to its current location and opened up Philadelphia Brewing Company in Kensington.
Read the full story here.
Correction: The original story mistakenly stated that Bill Barton co-founded Yards Brewing Company. He is a former partner but was not the co-founder.
