State OKs $750,000 Grant for Microbrewery, Pub at Summit Mall
Originally published in
The Buffalo News
A Canadian owner has big plans for the largely vacant Summit mall on Williams Road in Wheatfield
A $750,000 state grant has been approved to help pay for a new $3.1 million microbrewery and brew pub in the Summit, a largely vacant Wheatfield shopping mall.
Town of Wheatfield Local Development Corp. sought the grant on behalf of Big Thunder Brewing Co., which pledged to create about 50 jobs.
Big Thunder is owned by Zoran Cocov, the Canadian businessman who also owns the Williams Road mall. The brew pub and a pair of sports domes to be built behind the mall are key factors in his plan to revive the shopping center as a local attraction.
Cocov has received a tax break from the Niagara County Industrial Development Agency and a low-cost power allocation from the county's Empower Niagara agency for the sports domes.
State Sen. Robert G. Ortt, R-North Tonawanda, announced the grant.
