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New brewery planned for southeast Austin

The founder of Fast Friends Beer Co. calls the area a "craft brewery desert."

AUSTIN, Texas — Construction has begun on a new 16,500-square-foot brewery in southeast Austin, according to a report from the Austin Business Journal (ABJ). Fast Friends Beer Co. will be located just east of Interstate 35, between William Cannon Drive and Slaughter Lane.

Fast Friends was founded by Dave Childress, who earned his MBA at the University of Texas at Austin. He previously spearheaded Common Space Brewery in Hawthorne, California, and TEN20 Craft Brewery in Louisville, Kentucky.

ABJ reports that the property is located within an opportunity zone – a federally designated area that offers tax breaks on capital gains for investments in low-income census tracts. Profits from opportunity zone investments are also not taxed if the investment is held for at least 10 years. 

In addition to the potential capital gains tax breaks, Fast Friends will open in an area Childress calls a "craft brewery desert." 

According to ABJ, the brewery will be the only one in town that's both east of I-35 and south of St. Elmo Road. Fast Friends compiled data showing that nearly 19,000 people live within one mile of the location, while an estimated 154,000 vehicles drive past the site per day.

Childress told ABJ that he expects the brewery to have 35 to 40 employees upon opening sometime in 2022.

“We definitely are going to be [opening] in 2022. We are going to be disappointed if we’re not serving beers by the fall," Childress told ABJ. "We’re going to be excited if we can have a Cinco de Mayo or Memorial Day soft opening.”

In addition to beer, the brewery will have a food menu that focuses on "a concept of upscale tacos," Childress said.

Read ABJ's full report.

WATCH: Booming Breweries: The growth of the beer industry in Central Texas

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