This old plant in the Belmont neighborhood may soon house a brewery, restaurant and coffee roaster
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You can still smell the sugar and dough as you walk through it. But in the next six months an old industrial plant at the entry to the Belmont neighborhood that once made chocolate chip cookies could become a social center.
Leases are coming together to bring a brewery, restaurant and coffee roaster to the massive building on Louise Avenue.
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The plant was originally built in 1945 as Jack’s Cookie Warehouse. It was eventually sold to Keebler, which is now owned by Kellogg. The company used the plant up until about a year ago, making Famous Amos.
Contractor Doug Bradley and business partner Peter Thompson bought the property and the one adjacent to it last December for about $2.5 million, real estate records show.
It’s already home to Advent Coworking and Codespace, and Bradley is shepherding it through the city’s rezoning process to do even more. The space is massive: 69,000 square feet. And while the property doesn’t look all that inviting right now, Bradley Construction is behind projects like Cantina 1511 and Passion8 so they know what they’re doing.
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The location is naturally suited for a brewery. It already has some of the big ticket industrial items brewers need, like a giant cooler (where Kellogg kept its chocolate chips) and a boiler room. Bradley said he’s in conversations with two breweries about the space, one of which is an existing brewery looking to expand.
Talks with the coffee roaster are also pretty far along. There would also be a retail/coffee shop component.
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On the outside, the plan is to really work on the facade here and make this area the entry to all the businesses. The city of Charlotte has committed $65,000 in facade improvement grants.
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There are also plans for a rooftop patio area. Not a bad view.
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Meanwhile, there’s plenty of room for Advent to expand through it wall into the massive warehouse space next to it.
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There is also the possibility that Soccer Shots will move its offices here and create an indoor athletic facility.
The project had its public hearing before the city council last week, and it was smooth sailing. The council is expected to vote on the rezoning next month, with construction beginning soon after.