Jackson’s Belhaven neighborhood will soon welcome a craft beer brewery to the Belhaven Town Center.

Fertile Ground Beer Co., scheduled to open in 2021, will be located in a former Baptist Hospital laundry building at the corner of Manship and Jefferson Streets. 

The taproom-focused brewery will feature an inviting space to enjoy locally-made beer. 

“It’s the perfect location,” said Matthew McLaughlin, co-founder of Fertile Ground Beer Co. and founder of McLaughlin, PC law firm. “We are so excited to open this brewery within the Belhaven Town Center development and know that it will be a destination that everyone can enjoy. 

Located in the neighborhood’s commercial area, Belhaven Town Center opened with the first phase in early 2020 to include several new restaurants. The completed center will consist of dining, retail and small businesses. 

“I am thrilled that Greater Belhaven will be home to Fertile Ground Beer Co.,” said Casey Creasey, executive director of Greater Belhaven Foundation. “The brewery will not only create a community space for Belhaven residents but will also attract our city neighbors while showcasing our historic neighborhood. The brewery will be a welcomed addition to those restaurants and hospitality businesses that currently call Belhaven home.”

“We saw an opportunity and a need for a brewery in Jackson,” says Conner Reeves, co-founder of the brewery and attorney at McLaughlin, PC. “We put together a talented team to create and operate the brewery, and it’s backed by some great local investors who believe in the concept and location.”

If the name sounds familiar, it is.

“Fertile Ground” Brewing, comes from the 2014 TEDxJackson event with a similar name that focused on entrepreneurship, ideas worth spreading, creativity, and new urbanism in Jackson,” McLaughlin explained. “Fertile Ground Beer Co. will carry these themes forward in the form of an inviting and open third space where people can enjoy locally and regionally made craft beer.”

Speaking with Salam Rida, Project Manager of the more recent Bloomberg-funded art and food project, Fertile Ground, she said, “Fertile Ground Beer Co. was in part inspired by the project and will try to utilize local Mississippi products in their brewing process. We look forward to developing a partnership with the company as they move forward in their development.”

This isn’t JXN’s first locally-brewed, commercially available craft beer. More recently, Lucky Town Brewing Company closed in 2019 after six years in business. And, LD’s Beer Run on Old Canton Road in Northeast Jackson operates a micro-brewing operation under the name “Bicentennial Beer.”

To learn more about Fertile Ground Beer Co., receive updates on the opening and learn more about craft beer, follow the brewery on social media on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, or fertilegroundbeer.com.