JANUARY 18 TO JANUARY 24, 2024 | JAXDAILYRECORD.COM
BUSINESS & LEGAL NEWS IN BAKER, CLAY, DUVAL, NASSAU AND ST. JOHNS COUNTIES
FOR JACKSONVILLE BREWERIES, A TIME OF STOUT HEADWINDS
INSIDE
MATHIS REPORT
Company turns food waste into energy PAGE 6
BASCH REPORT
Fidelity says data breach impacted 1.3M consumers PAGE 14
Photo by Ric Anderson
Fishweir Brewing Co. co-owners Stacey and Broc Flores say inflation and changing consumer habits are putting financial pressure on their business and other similar breweries. Their business is at 1183 Edgewood Ave. S. in Murray Hill.
Rising costs and lingering effects from the coronavirus pandemic push some brewers past the tipping point. BY RIC ANDERSON STAFF WRITER
F
ishweir Brewing Co. co-owners Stacey and Broc Flores will remember 2023 as a year of milestones for the Murray Hill brewery. In November, Fishweir celebrated its fifth anniversary by rolling out five special brews with themed names like Cinco Mexican-style lager, 5our sour and Hop5 pale ale.
The anniversary came nine months after the couple adopted a tipless compensation system with a standard wage and benefits for the brewery’s staff. “That was a big change for us,” Broc Flores said. “It was important for us, because Stacey and I wanted to start a business that was community-focused and community-driven, and to do that you need to take care of the community that makes this place run.”
For all of the feel-good moments for Fishweir, 2023 also generated stiff economic headwinds for it and other small, independent breweries in Jacksonville and across the nation. Inflation, spiking costs of doing business and shifts in consumer spending cut into revenue for independents, resulting in hundreds of American breweries shutting their doors in 2023.
CITY GOVERNMENT
Mayor: Relief for building delays More staff and a new online portal aim to make it easier and faster for contractors to obtain building permits. PAGE 12
SEE BEER, PAGE 8
DEVELOPMENT
SUBSCRIBE NOW!
ONLY 5 $
FOR 2 MONTHS CALL TODAY 877-231-8834
or email subscriptions@jaxdailyrecord.com
INTRODUCTORY OFFER
DISTRIBUTION CENTERS
Fanatics shutting Jacksonville warehouse The sports merchandising giant is closing its fulfillment center at 5245 Commonwealth Ave., affecting 218 employees. PAGE 4
Kasper Downtown office advances The Downtown Development Review Board approves kasper architects + associates Inc.’s plans for interior and exterior renovations to its office in the Cathedral District. PAGE 10
VOLUME 111, NO. 10 | TWO SECTIONS | PUBLISHED SINCE 1912