Surly Company: A New Law Helps Craft Beer Maker Brew Up Jobs

When the owner of Minnesota-based Surly Brewing Company first came to see me at the Capitol, he was frustrated.  Wanting to grow his successful business with an additional $20 million expansion, Surly’s owner was becoming increasingly irritated by a 78-year-old state law that prevented a brewer from having a restaurant on the same site as its brewery.  Some speculated Surly would pull up stakes in Minnesota and move the growing business to another state. 

The Surly Brewing Company story is an American and Minnesota success story.  Founded by Omar Ansari in the early 1990’s, the Minnesota native literally started the business in his family’s garage in Brooklyn Center.  After quickly outgrowing the garage, Omar moved to the family business, converting a 5,000 square foot industrial building into a brewery.  Several add-ons followed, including a tasting room and offices.

The next step in the Surly success story is expected to be its $20 million expansion, creating over 200 permanent jobs and construction jobs.  Not only is Mr. Ansari planning to significantly expand the brewing part of his operation, he is going to add an on-site restaurant as well, creating a “destination brewery” similar to those popping up across the country.  Several local cities are already courting Surly, excited that the planned expansion might occur in their communities.

Standing in the way of Surly’s expansion, though, was a decades-old law designed to keep large beer-makers from opening their own restaurants with cut-rate beer in order to squeeze out local mom-and-pop bars, grills and restaurants.  The law was written at a time when the concept of small- and medium-sized “craft” brewers wasn’t even contemplated.

With bipartisan support, we crafted a change in the law to allow Surly to move ahead, without jeopardizing the fine balance between brewers, distributors and small restaurant and bar owners. 

Recently, Surly Brewing started the process of having detailed designs drawn and selecting a site for its proposed expansion and the 200+ jobs that will come along with it.  Local communities may be among the sites Surly is considering.  We'll find out for sure in the next few months.

As the chief author of the change in the law to make the expansion possible, I want to thank Surly and its owner for moving ahead, for staying in Minnesota, and for investing in jobs here.  I was happy to play a modest role in helping pave the way to a reasonable solution, and I wish Surly and its employees the best of luck with their expansion.