10/04/2021

Cincinnati Business Courier / Jake Rouse / October 3, 2021

Braxton Brewing Co. is exploring opening a brewpub at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport.

The board that oversees CVG recently approved a proposal to give Braxton a seven-year lease, but a deal has not been finalized.

“Though we don’t have a deal signed on paper yet, we’re optimistic about the potential of this new opportunity and really excited about this new chapter for Braxton,” Braxton CEO and co-founder Jake Rouse said in a statement. “Look, traveling is always stressful, even in the best of times. We’re hoping that the potential of this new taproom in the airport gives people another opportunity to lift one to life and celebrate everything that’s good in our city right now.”

If it goes forward with the project, Braxton will take the place of Samuel Adams, which shuttered its location on Concourse A in 2020.

CVG CEO Candace McGraw said Braxton will make an excellent addition because of its local following.

“Braxton is very interested in coming into the airport,” McGraw said. “They’re willing to invest now when a lot of concessionaires aren’t.”

Braxton will invest $400,000 in the space. The seven-year lease calls for CVG to receive 6% of gross revenues up to $850,000 in its first year in consideration of the investment, about half of what retail and restaurants normally pay. If the brewery makes more than that, it will pay 14%.

After the first year, it will pay 14%. There also is no minimum guaranteed rent, something airports are unsure they can insist on given the pandemic and the uncertainty of how many customers will be coming through the airport.

Braxton expanded into Ohio last year, after buying a brewery in Pendleton. It also has a taproom in Fort Mitchell in addition to its original brewery in Covington.

FULL STORY HERE (subscription-based)