High Cotton plans expansion, Neely’s plans to reopen

High Cotton Brewing Co. was awarded a $50,000 grant last week from the Center City Development Corp. for improvements to its building at 598 Monroe Ave. The brewery hopes to add a taproom to the century-old one-time livery stable and be open this summer.

High Cotton recently added stainless steel tanks to up its production from 800 barrels per year to nearly 1,500, and has invested a total of $500,000 in the 9,000-square-foot property thus far.

The taproom, designed by Graham Reese Design Group, will go a long way toward helping beer lovers become acquainted with the already-popular brew, now found in bars and restaurants throughout the city. But it will also have a draw that brings people to a formerly underutilized area, one inhabited by a scant few businesses, such as Marshall Arts Gallery, Trolley Stop Market and High Cotton’s neighbor across the street and stalwart of the Edge neighborhood Kudzu’s Bar & Grill. The mayor’s office has tapped the area as an Innovation District, meant to bring together employees, researchers, students and entrepreneurs from the nearby Medical District.

On the edge of that district to the north, Tony Neely of Neely’s Bar-B-Que was awarded a development loan of $67,500 to help reopen the original site at 670 Jefferson Ave. Before final approval, the restaurant will have to pay $40,000 in back taxes owed on two properties. The site was previously home to Monsieur Demarcus French Crêperie.