When Middle West Spirits opened in 2008, it was Central Ohio’s first craft distillery. Soon it will be Ohio’s largest.
The Columbus-based distillery announced today a multi-year expansion of its operations at a 14-acre campus at 1165 Alum Creek Dr. The new facility will include a 75,000-square-foot state-of-the-art distillery, grain recycling center, packaging and bottling operations, new office space and more, with the potential for additional hospitality space.
“We are excited about the Alum Creek development and the future of our company. The expansion of our operations allows us to hit capacities, aging goals and the volumes needed to continue to develop our brands and partnership programs,” said Ryan Lang, founder and chief executive officer for Middle West Spirits. “Our team has worked tirelessly over the last 15 years to bring us to this point, and we are excited to start the next chapter of Middle West.”
Middle West acquired the vacant property in 2020 and has already completed some initial renovations to relocate and expand its operations.
Hiring will begin immediately for the 80 new jobs the project is slated to create over the next three years.
“Middle West is making an immense impact on the local community by creating jobs and revitalizing a key property on the east side of Columbus that hopefully brings further investment to that corridor,” said Mayor Andrew Ginther.
New space brings the promise of new products. New offerings are in the works to be released later this year, adding to Middle West’s current portfolio of 15 branded spirits.
The expanded facility will also help the distillery bring new brands into its strategic partner program, which “works with select partners to help them bring their signature spirits to market.”
“From day one we have sought to develop the very best spirits we can from the agriculture that surrounds us. Most of that is for our family of brands,” Lang said. “But through our distillery partnership program, we also support the development and growth of the partners we work with.”
Middle West’s Short North operations aren’t going anywhere. They’ll continue distilling on-site at 1230 Courtland Ave. The address also houses the brand’s bottle shop and restaurant, Service Bar.
For more information, visit middlewestspirits.com.