Since April 2023, Ohio fans of Hi-Wire Brewing could get a taste of North Carolina by visiting the brewery’s Cincinnati taproom.
But as of this week, the location is now in the hands of Kentucky-based Braxton Brewing.
The companies announced a “mutually beneficial agreement” Monday that sees Braxton Brewing take over Hi-Wire’s taproom and rooftop at Factory 52 – a Cincy shopping and lifestyle hub. Renovations on the leased space – owned by developer PLK Communities – are happening now, with a reopening tentatively scheduled for next week, Braxton co-founder and CEO Jake Rouse told Brewbound.
“Change is never easy, but it can lead to something pretty great,” Hi-Wire wrote on its website. “In the wake of Hurricane Helene, Hi-Wire Brewing has had to make some tough calls – but one bright spot has been the start of a strong partnership with our friends at Braxton Brewing Co.”
“After Hurricane Helene destroyed our headquarters, flagship taproom and distribution warehouse in Asheville, we had to look at our business and figure out the best path forward without knowing how we would recover from the flood,” Hi-Wire co-founder and CEO Adam Charnack added in a press release. “We had to think about how to ensure the health of the business, and that meant making some hard choices.”
Fans of Hi-Wire and the Factory 52 location should not fret – Hi-Wire beers will still be available at the taproom. Additionally, Hi-Wire employees at the location are staying on, transitioning to Braxton staff.
“We really don’t want to just come in and take over and let Hi-Wire disappear,” Rouse told Brewbound. “Keeping the team is a big part of it, but [also] continuing to pour some of the beers. I intend to keep a cooler door full of package[d Hi-Wire] as long as Adam will sell it to us.”
Rouse and Charnack have been in contact for more than a year, sharing a mutual respect for their respective companies’ similar taproom-focused business strategies, the duo told Brewbound. Conversations about transitioning the Factory 52 space started after Hurricane Helene in September.
“We have similar ways of thinking about this industry,” Charnack said, noting how he “admired” Braxton’s ability to operate in a “denser metro area” as both a “retail-heavy” and “taproom-heavy” brewery.
“The thoughts both came in both of our heads, like, ‘Hey, is this an opportunity for them to do their business model at the next level?’ And, ‘Is this for us to look at our business model and – for better, for worse – operationally simplify it a little bit?’” he continued. “It’s like the perfect Tetris fit.”
The two breweries will collaborate on a commemorative beer to “celebrate this new chapter for both businesses,” according to a press release. The offering will be available at select Braxton and Hi-Wire taprooms later this summer. More details will be shared in the coming weeks.
As Charnack shared on the Brewbound Podcast earlier this year, Hi-Wire has been reevaluating how it does business since its Asheville production facility was devastated by Hurricane Helene. Excluding Cincinnati, the brewery operates eight own-premise locations: six in North Carolina (Charlotte, Durham, Wilmington and three in Asheville), one in Knoxville, Tennessee, and one in Louisville, Kentucky.
The Factory 52 location is Braxton’s fifth taproom facility, joining four locations across Kentucky (Covington, Union, Fort Mitchell and the CVG International Airport). While the new taproom is Braxton’s first outside Kentucky, it’s not far from its base operations – Cincinnati is about 30 minutes from Braxton’s Union operations, Rouse shared.
“Some people have even asked me over the past couple days … ‘Well, did Hi-Wire fail?’ and I’m like, ‘No, they’ve done a great job, and that place is fantastic,’” Rouse said. “We’re honored to be able to grow the foundation that they built, and super excited to partner on helping promote their beer here in Greater Cincinnati and see what we can do together.”
“It’s a passing of the torch,” Charnack added. “We built something that was working, and our product – not just beer, but what we were providing – was resonating. People really enjoyed it. This is an opportunity for Braxton to build upon that and do it in a way that’s in alignment.”
In addition to Hi-Wire’s former space, Braxton has also taken over adjacent outdoor entertainment areas. Similar “green spaces” and community hubs have been a recent priority for Braxton – as demonstrated in the development of its Union facilities in 2024 – with the brewery intending to create spaces where families feel welcome.
“There’s 10,000 breweries in America, most of them are making really great beer,” Rouse said. “For us to be able to do a taproom and do it well, we have to be able to marry time, product and place, and when you can marry those things around an environment and a product, you can create magic, and that’s what we’ve been able to see.”
It’s a similar mission to Hi-Wire’s as the company now refocuses its attention on its remaining spaces. No further closures are expected at this time.
“We don’t really do public spaces super well in America,” Charnack said. “Having these third spaces to be able to be yourself with your people in your community is more vital than ever.
“Our core focus as a company is that we believe that the things that bring us together are stronger than the things that pull us apart, and our mission is to make the things that bring us together, and we summarize that with ‘Find Your Fun.’ That’s our goal is for people to find their fun.”