Beer drinkers in McKinney will soon be sipping in a new spot, as TUPPS Brewery is set to move to a 4.3-acre property on the city’s east side that will feature an expanded taproom, a new production facility and space in between for drinking, eating and enjoying concerts and other events.
The new campus — an old grain mill on Greenville Road — will feature a 12,000-square-foot taproom, a production brewery space that will be about 30,000 square feet and a container park in between featuring retail outlets and local artisans. It also will have stages for live music.
Keith Lewis, founder and president of TUPPS, said the renovation will be a “big, audacious project,” but he hopes the facility will be ready to open at the beginning of 2022.
“When we moved into the facility that we’re currently in, I just thought that was going to be our forever home. It was 17,000 square feet and we were just a startup,” he said. “Five years later we’re busting at the seams.”
Lewis said he had conversations with other Collin County cities about relocating but was thrilled to stay in McKinney in part because of the ability to work in a historic building that fits the brewery’s aesthetic.
“It’s off the charts. It’s fantastic. We wanted to stay in McKinney,” he said. “For us to actually rehab a 120-year-old facility, we’re all geeking out about it.”
The other factor in Lewis staying in town was the city extending the brewery financial incentives. The McKinney Community Development Corp. approved $11.3 million in financing, with the McKinney Economic Development Corp. providing a smaller amount to help fund brewery equipment.
“I think the board was really excited about the opportunity,” said Cindy Schneible, president of the MCDC. “The strategic priorities for the board include the downtown historic cultural district and East McKinney redevelopment and then also projects that create destination entertainment and retail opportunities. This project really sort of fit right with those strategic priorities.”
The money will be paid back over 40 years, allowing MCDC to recoup the funds and invest in future projects.
“We have a 40-year lease to own on the property,” Lewis said. “It’s basically having the city believe in us that we’re going to be the catalyst for the east side, and they’re willing to lay money on the table and basically fund the whole project knowing that at some point in the future, we’ll buy the whole thing.”
That’s exactly how the city sees the project, which it hopes will lead to more growth in the neighborhood.
“We’ve been working on a number of different initiatives trying to expand our downtown to make that leap across Highway 5. We see that area as kind of an aging industrial district that just doesn’t have the vibrancy we have here on our square,” said Barry Shelton, McKinney’s assistant city manager, who worked on the site. “The stars aligned and we have a great local business whose vision matches ours, and they want to bring in something [that’s a] really cool public space.”
TUPPS was founded in 2015, going from a garage project to a full-blown business.
Lewis and his partner Tupper Patnode thought they would be in their current facility at 721 Anderson St. for the brewery’s lifetime and expected to simply offer their three core beers with occasional specials. Instead, TUPPS has become known for its frequent releases, including the Double Dry Hopped IPA series, the 23rd edition of which was canned last week.
This year, Lewis expects to produce around 11,000 barrels of beer, which puts TUPPS among the 15 largest craft breweries in Texas. At the new facility, Lewis estimates the capacity will be more than 40,000 barrels per year.
The increased production will allow the brewery to venture into the Houston market, Lewis said. While the brand’s beer currently is found in North Texas, Austin, San Antonio and El Paso, it hasn’t felt comfortable making a foray into Houston without knowing it has the capacity to meet demand.
That shouldn’t be an issue at the new facility, where Lewis said he’ll be thrilled to continue serving the McKinney community and to reward the city’s faith in the brewery.
“It really shows the commitment to TUPPS and also shows their passion for the east side of downtown and making that a really strong, historical, cultural district,” he said. “We’re first man in the swimming pool.”
But, McKinney hopes, not the last.
