The following is a stream of consciousness, so there may be errors. Let me know, and I’ll correct them.
So, Upland Brewing Co. has acquired Floyd County Brewing Co.
Upland Brewing acquires Floyd County Brewing Company, with a rebrand on the way
As I’ve surveyed the online reaction since the story broke last evening, it strikes me that a few important points are being missed.
ChChChChanges: It would make no sense for Upland to invest in FCBC and continue to running it as it has been, with the same beer and food. The overall atmosphere might turn out to be similar, and the music venue could stay pretty much the same, but why buy a business and a big chunk of downtown property (a half block, with improvements) and not brand it as you, with your concept and beers?
Your ID, please: Given that an Upland-branded restaurant exists already in Jeffersonville, a few miles upriver, why establish another by that name so close, when the concept of a Champagne Velvet-branded entity is already under development in Colorado? The point of naming a restaurant after one of your beer brands is to sell more of it.
Non-competition clause: By extension, why would Upland continue to brew FCBC beers when it’s already one of the top three brewers in Indiana, with ample brewing capacity of its own? Again, the idea is to have a ready outlet for Upland’s beer brands in downtown New Albany, although it’s certainly conceivable that Braun Jovi returns as a seasonal, or some such micro-marketing strategy.
Futurology: That half-block of ground alone qualifies this deal as a real estate transaction, as much as it is a beer move on the surface. It doesn’t necessarily imply that Thirst and Main will soon be cleared and a high-rise erected, this being highly unlikely at the present time, but the first hurdle for any such project (land acquisition) will have been commenced, whether for the current owner or one in the future.
A friend asks, “But will Upland’s “rebranding” really work for New Albany?
Now more than ever, the answer to this question depends on how we choose to define New Albany, or not, or who “we” even are.
Remember what I used to say at NA Confidential?
New Albany is a state of mind ― but whose?
In 2026, we’re honoring the 20th anniversary of the short-lived but massively influential Bistro New Albany, located at the corner of Bank & Market where Brooklyn and The Butcher is now. Bistro New Albany was followed by numerous standalone indies (Wick’s and Toast were obvious exceptions, both having originated in Louisville).
Downtown subsequently became a place to go, as opposed to avoiding, thanks to indie food and drink as well as the YMCA and other investments.
It’s an ongoing process that never comes to an end, and recently the conceptual tide has markedly shifted in terms of food and drink outlets.
Genuine “single unit” indies (Baer’s, Lady Tron, Board & You, Petra and Bootie’s, to name five) gradually are being outweighed by multi-unit establishments and regional chains:
Exchange/Brooklyn, soon Upland’s Champagne Velvet bistro at FCBC, Parlour Pizza, Agave & Rye, Rec Bar, Dog Haus, Tavern NA, Neace Ventures’ (2? 3?) bars, Coffee Crossing, The Fair/Catrina’s, and so on.
Before anyone thinks I’m denouncing these businesses, allow me to reassure you. I’m merely trying to categorize them to illustrate a point about the direction of downtown’s predominant wind.
Dog Haus is the only true national franchise operation among them downtown (and the negative outlier in my own personal world). We can be thankful for that.
It’s simply not the best time in recent memory for anyone to run an eatery or bar as a maverick standalone indie; the headwinds are vicious, and multi-unit economies of scale help weather those storms. The multi-unit trend also injects a level of professionalism into the equation that oddball quirky indies sometimes lack (as with me in 1992; I had to learn on the job).
At the same time, a measure of individuality and uniqueness are sacrificed by size. They’re all tradeoffs, and downtown NA is quite clearly trading off, which also reflects consumer demand (and I’m happy consumers still demand Hugh E. Bir’s).
Not only that, but don’t forget that State Street between hospital and interstate ramp is a putrid national chain and franchise wasteland of epic (and to my mind, purely avoidable) dimensions.
When I was working at Pints&union downtown, I regularly saw people working at The Root (a place for indie remote work and networking) hop into their cars at lunch and return with heaping sacks o’Chick-fil-A, even when indies were open right around the damn corner.
Ugh. (Un)consciousness is such a variable thing.
Last night another friend observed that he hoped Upland hasn’t gone “corporate” with its expansion. My reply was that this particular horse escaped the barn a long time ago, but I still like what Upland does with beer after almost three decades in business.
More to the point, as illustrated by the preceding list, the metaphorical “corporatization” of downtown New Albany’s food and drink is already well under way, if by this we mean organizational upsizing, and it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the tipping point can be seen growing smaller in the rear view mirror.
I’m not sure I have a conclusion. What I’m referencing here is more fact-gathering than diagnosis. Honestly, I’m no longer sure there can even be conclusions. Investments are being made downtown, and food and drink businesses are persevering. They’re also changing.
The mayor likely will take credit for all of this, and that’s patently absurd, but too few people ever ask the right questions of politicians, anyway.
If I could snap my fingers and will quirky indie differences into being, we’d have a Belgian frituur with the complete line of St. Bernardus on tap. But I’ve no desire to squander my retirement, and Champagne Velvet with burgers is likelier to succeed with the suburbanites, anyway.
I’m older. Another (younger) demographic ultimately will decide. Actually, I believe it is deciding; all I can do as a dissenter is look for artistic loopholes.
