Rezoning clears the way for new craft brewery in Georgia

Say it with me now: Everybody wins when states allow craft breweries to startup, grow and expand. Georgia is just now starting to understand this after allowing breweries to sell beers to customers to take home, and the good vibes have continued in Lawrenceville, Ga. The city council there just unanimously granted a special-use permit for a 106-year-old building next to an old train depot so it could become the county’s first craft brewery.

From the Gwinnett Daily Post:

Heading up the project at 407 N. Clayton St. is Marty Mazzawi, a dentist from a family of dentists in the county, and his brother-in-law, John Reynolds, a craft beer fan. Mazzawi had been operating a coffee shop in North Carolina and wanted to bring the two drinks together, thus Slowdown Brewing Company was born.

“The city has had a willingness to work with us in this area which needs rebuilding,” Attorney Jody Campbell said. “It’s getting a much-needed face-lift and brings re-development to this area.”

“We were given a business plan, and we were quite impressed with it,” said Mayor Judy Johnson during the Wednesday night public hearing. “It had a sense of pride in the City of Lawrenceville.”

The owners plan on opening a 3,000-square-foot tasting room to take advantage of the new rules concerning take-home beers.