Columbia’s Peak Drift Brewing starts production on drinks

A large-scale brewery project in north Columbia has up production and running on some of its drinks.

Peak Drift Brewing Company, which is developing a multi-faceted production brewery and entertainment facility at 3452 North Main St. in Columbia, has launched its inaugural run of beer and hard seltzers, which will start popping up in select Midlands bars, restaurants and stores as soon as this week.

“Peak Drift is committed to celebrating everything that makes the Southeast special — the mountains, the oceans, the rivers, and most of all, the people,” Peak Drift co-owner Sara Middleton Styles said in a release. “Through our innovative production facility, award-winning products and new brewery coming to the North Main area, we are dedicated to industrial collaboration and strengthening our local communities.”

The Peak Drift Brewing project is a nearly $50 million deal that is still under development on North Main. The building at 3452 North Main was originally built in the 1940s and was operated for years by Stone Manufacturing. It was a garment factory for decades. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2020.

Aside from the now up and running production side, the Peak Drift site on North Main will also eventually include restaurant space with indoor and outdoor dining options, a members-only gym, an entertainment stage, a duckpin bowling alley, a merchandise shop and much more. The larger complex is expected to open in 2023.

There are a number of launch events for Peak Drift drinks

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Richmond restaurant cancels conservative Christian group’s reservation

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A restaurant in Richmond last week canceled a reservation for a private event being held by a conservative Christian organization, citing the group’s opposition to same-sex marriage and abortion rights.

“We have always refused service to anyone for making our staff uncomfortable or unsafe and this was the driving force behind our decision,” read an Instagram post from Metzger Bar and Butchery, a German-influenced restaurant in the Union Hill neighborhood whose kitchen is helmeted by co-owner Brittanny Anderson, a veteran of TV cooking shows including “Top Chef” and “Chopped.” “Many of our staff are women and/or members of the LGBTQ+ community. All of our staff are people with rights who deserve dignity and a safe work environment. We respect our staff’s established rights as humans and strive to create a work environment where they can do their jobs with dignity, comfort and safety.”

The group, the Family Foundation, was set to host a dessert reception for supporters on Nov. 30, the group’s president, Victoria Cobb, wrote in a blog post describing the incident. About an hour and a half before it was slated to start, one of the restaurant’s owners called to cancel it, he wrote. “As our VP of Operations explained that guests were arriving at their restaurant shortly, she asked for an explanation,” Cobb wrote. “Sure enough, an employee looked up to our organization, and their wait staff refused to serve us.”

The Family Foundation is based in Richmond and advocates for “policies

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Kansas Governor Laura Kelly wants a food tax axed next legislative session

TOPEKA, Kan. (KSNW) – Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly has called on the legislature to completely eliminate the state sales tax on groceries, diapers, and feminine hygiene products when they return for the 2023 session.

Last year, the legislature passed a bill that would drop the tax to 4% and 2% the following year. It would be completely gone in 2025. The plan will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2023. Currently, the state has the second-highest sales tax on groceries, sitting at 6.5%.

“We have ‘Axed the Food Tax’ and are putting money back in Kansans’ pockets,” Kelly said in a statement. “Kansans will see the savings very soon, but we can do more. When the Kansas Legislature comes back in January, I will push again for the complete and immediate elimination of the state’s sales tax on groceries.”

The Kansas Department of Revenue (KDOR) published its notice to initiate those changes.

The informational notice can be found here, and the sales tax publication can be found here. Retailers with questions about implementation can contact the Kansas Department of Revenue’s Tax Assistance Center at 785-368-8222.

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