A beautifully aged, postindustrial property in East Point that may look familiar to Strangers Things and Ozark fans is being reborn into what’s described as an “eat-drink-relax destination.”
Located within walking distance of East Point’s historic downtown and MARTA station, the 20,000-square-foot centerpiece building of a complex called Atlanta Utility Works is scheduled to open soon as a brewery and taproom for Golda Kombucha, owned and operated by Cultured South Fermentation Company.
Beyond the kombucha operation, expect a full bar with cocktails and rotating food trucks, alongside a small farm and the property’s versatile events venue, according to Cultured South founder and owner Melanie Styles.
Inside the circa-1901 former factory that's being converted to a 20,000-square-foot taproom and brewery. Courtesy of Atlanta Utility Works/Cultured South
Planned Atlanta Utility Works layout beside active railroad tracks. Courtesy of Atlanta Utility Works/Cultured South
Styles, an East Point resident, bought the 2903 RN Martin Street property last year to expand Cultured South’s operations and invest in her home city. The business also operates a 6,000-square-foot, brick-and-mortar location with a retail shop, café, and kombucha bar at West End’s Lee + White district.
Styles plans to develop and fund the $2.1-million, adaptive-reuse project in East Point herself, according to project reps. (The new Golda Kombucha line is named for Styles’ grandmother and borrows from her recipes.)
Previously abandoned, the Atlanta Utility Works property dates to the early 1900s and once manufactured mill machinery, fertilizer, and farm equipment, becoming a leading, railroad-connected industrial business for the city.
More recently, the empty factory has been used as a filming location, notably in Ozark and as eerie “Brimborn Steel Works” in the Stranger Things series.
A small foundry that had operated next door now functions as a 3,000-square-foot event space, The Foundry Ruins, for weddings, yoga, and other gatherings. That remains open during construction of the taproom and brewery, project heads tell Urbanize Atlanta.
The Foundry Ruins portion of the property functioning as a wedding venue. Courtesy of Atlanta Utility Works/Cultured South
Styles has entered the project into the EPA’s Brownfields Program as a means of more safely and sustainably cleaning up the site.
We’ve asked for clarity on when Atlanta Utility Works’ permanent beverage component could open, and we’ll update this story with any additional details that come. For now, have a closer look at the property in the gallery above.
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