Tribute Companies, along with Aaron Skiles and Bill Hunter, co-owners of New Anthem Beer Project, 116 Dock St., have announced plans to lease 15,000 square feet of space in the South Front District. The space will allow the brewery to expand its production capacity and better meet the demand for New Anthem beer in the Port City and beyond.
 
New Anthem’s 10-barrel brewing system on Dock Street allows the company to have 12 beers on tap, but as demand for kegs and cans has increased, Skiles said they are limited on what they can sell outside the taproom.
 
“We’d like to be able to increase our wholesale accounts with restaurants, bars and bottle shops in town, as well as in the Triangle and Charlotte,” Skiles said. “But our first obligation has always been to supply the taproom.”
 
Skiles and Hunter will continue to operate the Dock Street taproom, and the South Front District space will include a small taproom with retail space and a beer garden.
 
“The new facility will allow us to increase production and dedicate our current location to some of the barrel-aged and farmhouse-style beers we originally hoped to produce more of,” Skiles said. “Overall it allows us more room for creativity.”
 
The new space accounts for about three quarters of the former Capps Industrial Supply building, the rest of which will be allocated for a restaurant, according to MoMentum Companies President Terry Espy.
 
“We’re really happy to have the opportunity to grow the business and be a part of a really hip, up- and-coming community,” Skiles said.
 
Other South Front District businesses currently under construction include Love Lydia, a bakery and café owned by Lydia Clopton, pastry chef at PinPoint Restaurant; and Second Glass, a second location for Fortunate Glass owner Celeste Glass.
 
Skiles said he hopes to begin construction this summer, and is hoping for an early 2019 opening.