Marlborough spending big money to help breweries set up shop

Boston lured G.E from Connecticut and many cities are still vying for Amazon’s second headquarters.

The city of Marlborough has a different idea when it comes to stimulating its local economy -- locally brewed beer.

The Marlborough Economic Development Corporation believes small breweries can help create some buzz about the downtown area.

It awarded a $25,000 grant to Walden Woods Brewing to open a microbrewery on Main Street.

The tanks are getting assembled and the bar area is getting a fresh coat of paint.  Soon beer will be flowing out of their gleaming taps.

As company co-founder Alida Orzechowski said, “The really good beer is what everyone’s really after.”

Along with her partner Chris Brown, Orzechowksi looked into developing a brew pub in dozens of communities.  “It was really becoming an epic struggle.”

They were surprised when they saw the MEDC was awarding grants under an Amenities Financing Program.

Under this program, the goal is to attract more brew pubs and restaurants.

In a few weeks, Walden Woods will be opening in their new home.  “We are sort of getting the ball rolling on the growth, and brining some vibrancy, into the downtown area,” explained Orzechowksi.

Craft beer is hot these days.

The number of small breweries has more than doubled across the state over the last five years.

Meredith Harris, MEDC executive director, thinks getting in on this trend can make their city a place where people want to visit and work.  “We started to hear from companies that this is something helps attract millennials as well, so to us, it made sense.  It was a win-win on both fronts.”

Orzechowksi believes this kind of development can have an impact.  “If you have two or three really decent breweries in town, that's going to become a destination and people are going to want to go and pub hop a little bit, and have a bigger experience.”

Brown added that people like to drink beer that is locally brewed and made with ingredients that are grown in the region.

Another brew pub has been awarded a grant is now slated to open on the other end of Main Street

Cox Media Group