CHAD WARBINGTON: New downtown brewery plans forming

Last month, the Albany City Commission voted to award operations of the downtown brewery to Socius Beer Collective out of Winder. They currently operate four breweries located in Winder, Lawrenceville, Stone Mountain and Hendersonville, N.C.

I think this decision is one of the key aspects of continuing the positive momentum and push for downtown development. I consider the closing of Pretoria Fields just a hiccup and a minor setback that surprised everyone back in November of 2024. The brewery building and equipment are 100% intact and in good working order, and at this point, we just need another brewery operator to step in and take over operations.

Socius Beer Collective is experienced and successful in running other breweries, and adding Albany to their portfolio should be a win/win scenario.

While nothing is set in stone, going forward, the brewery will be a good bit different than before with Pretoria Fields. First, it will not be a “one-dimensional” business that is beer-focused. There is a vision for the space to have several food options, large event spaces, an outdoor garden area, regular games and activities each night, maybe even second-floor apartments or hotel rooms. The brewing equipment is way oversized for a local style brew pub, but Socius Beer Collective has plans to try and utilize smaller batches and possibly grow into the high-volume production equipment over time.

They clearly communicated in their bid for the brewery, that food and other amenities are needed for a successful brewery. Pretoria Fields’ primary business was for higher-volume production and distribution of beer outside of Albany, and local events were somewhat secondary to their main business model. In the future, a diversified business model that attracts all individuals, whether drinking beer or not, will be needed for the brewery to be successful.

The city of Albany and the Downtown Development Authority are in 100% control of the brewery now. A few months ago, the city was able to purchase the loan from Farm Credit, and that put complete control in the city’s hands. With the original city loan and the purchased Farm Credit loan, the city has approximately $2.2 million of investment outstanding. With a successful brewery, citizens should know that investment will be
returned to the city in short order, either via lease payments or an outright purchase in the future. An operating and successful brewery would create far more value in the property than the city’s $2.2 million outstanding investment.

Right now, the challenge in our community is that we have to “get out of our own way.” We have to overcome the self-doubt that plagues Albany when we are on the cusp of something big and successful. We have to defeat the negative thoughts and self-sabotage that Albany is known for in the worlds of social media, “negative pages” and all the keyboard warriors.

Albany is poised to take immediate action to re-start the brewery and start developing ideas and strategies for the “other” activities and businesses that could share the space. I believe foot traffic in and out of the brewery easily could be double if not triple the previous operation. Neighboring businesses will see foot traffic and spending increase in their stores and restaurants soon.

The Brewery is built, ready to put the keys in the ignition and crank it up. No major work is needed; no complicated capital funding stack needs to be negotiated; no state/federal historic tax incentives, no new market tax credits to pursue. It is just sitting, waiting to open back up for business.

I ask all of us to support and help envision a new brewery for downtown Albany. It’s ready for a new name, by the way. I’ve asked that we stop referring to it as “Pretoria Fields Brewery” and simply say our downtown brewery until a new name is decided upon. I’ve asked to set up some open houses in the near future to allow citizens to enter and see the entire space and to build some excitement. I look forward to a busy and packed-out brewery soon.