DES MOINES, Iowa — The former Crescent Chevrolet building in downtown Des Moines is getting a second chance at life.
Big Grove Brewery and Taproom on Wednesday moved in and celebrated its grand opening.
The brewery which has two other locations in Iowa, will have 20 drinks on tap.
Matthew Swift, co-founder of the brewery said when they were designing the place it was important to keep certain elements of the past included, like the original sign.
Swift noted Des Moines was chosen for its newest location because it allowed for more people in the state to enjoy a homegrown brand.
"This is going to be the pilot system for the entire company," Swift said. "A lot of Des Moines exclusive beers. We're going to have everything from IPAs, to light beers to wheat beers to seltzers."
Noreen Otto, executive director of the Iowa Brewers Guild, said Des Moines getting another brewery would have a positive impact on the city.
Otto said based on a study from the Brewers Association, breweries have just over a billion dollars of economic impact on the state.
There are over 115 breweries in Iowa that help contribute thousands of jobs to the workforce.
The executive director noted one of the biggest ways breweries helps an area is through tourism.
"Earlier this summer we hosted the Iowa Craft Brew Festival and we looked at the data from ticket purchases from that event," Otto said. "The fourth highest city that purchased tickets was actually the Omaha Nebraska area. So we know that people are coming into the state and spending their tourism dollars."
Otto noted the brewery industry is expected to continue to grow in Des Moines and statewide.
Big Grove Brewery will open to the public Wednesday at 3 p.m.