MONROE - Officials at Minhas Craft Brewery have announced the opening of two new distilleries in Regina, Saskatchewan, and Calgary, Alberta, both in Canada, later this spring.
"The idea has been going on for about a year," said Moni Minhas, the father of Brewery co-founders Ravinder and Manjit, and who is also heading up the new locations.
Production at the Monroe distillery is so far behind due to a high volume of demand that the company made the choice to open more production facilities.
"We're having a terrible time keeping up with demand in Monroe. They have been working 10-hour days, six days a week for months," Minhas said. "We thought about either a third or second shift but decided against it."
The company already owns warehouse facilities in Regina, and drinks made in Saskatchewan would stay within the province.
"Our Regina facility would only supply Saskatchewan, which is only about 1.1 million people. We have all the recipes and expertise already, and construction is moving right along," Minhas said. "This could help grow our sales 10-fold."
The Calgary facility, which was announced Jan. 18, is to make it easier to distribute within Alberta. New laws in the province have lowered the cost of markups on liquor sold from production facilities. Both distilleries are scheduled to open May 1.
Despite work being pulled from the Monroe facility, Minhas is confident that jobs in the distillery will not be affected.
"This is very good news for Green County. The restaurant is extremely successful, the kitchen is adding wine tasting and we're looking to grow our craft distillery in Monroe," Minhas said. "We just added a sales person in Monroe for Green County. We're looking to grow the local market by 500 percent."
Minhas also spoke glowingly about Monroe and called the city his family's "second home."
"Monroe has been very good to us, and we will never think of decreasing our efforts there. Monroe will always be our biggest operation," Minhas said. "We've grown 10-fold since coming to Monroe."
"The idea has been going on for about a year," said Moni Minhas, the father of Brewery co-founders Ravinder and Manjit, and who is also heading up the new locations.
Production at the Monroe distillery is so far behind due to a high volume of demand that the company made the choice to open more production facilities.
"We're having a terrible time keeping up with demand in Monroe. They have been working 10-hour days, six days a week for months," Minhas said. "We thought about either a third or second shift but decided against it."
The company already owns warehouse facilities in Regina, and drinks made in Saskatchewan would stay within the province.
"Our Regina facility would only supply Saskatchewan, which is only about 1.1 million people. We have all the recipes and expertise already, and construction is moving right along," Minhas said. "This could help grow our sales 10-fold."
The Calgary facility, which was announced Jan. 18, is to make it easier to distribute within Alberta. New laws in the province have lowered the cost of markups on liquor sold from production facilities. Both distilleries are scheduled to open May 1.
Despite work being pulled from the Monroe facility, Minhas is confident that jobs in the distillery will not be affected.
"This is very good news for Green County. The restaurant is extremely successful, the kitchen is adding wine tasting and we're looking to grow our craft distillery in Monroe," Minhas said. "We just added a sales person in Monroe for Green County. We're looking to grow the local market by 500 percent."
Minhas also spoke glowingly about Monroe and called the city his family's "second home."
"Monroe has been very good to us, and we will never think of decreasing our efforts there. Monroe will always be our biggest operation," Minhas said. "We've grown 10-fold since coming to Monroe."