The Tribune

The Bahamian Brewery and Beverage Company has moved to an expanded three-acre warehouse and office complex in Nassau’s Airport Industrial Park to serve its continued growth.

The brewer and distributor of Sands Beer, and brands such as Bush Crack, High Rock lager, Strong Back stout, Triple B malt and Sands Passion Radler, said yesterday that the new 30,000 square foot warehouse will enable it to increase product volumes, carry more inventory and better serve customers.

The facility has a refrigerated drive-in zone to accommodate the company’s wide selection of wine and tobacco products. Completion of its construction has enabled Bahamian Brewery and Beverage Company to hire six extra staff members for the warehouse.

“The larger warehouse is really a dream,” said manager Bryan Thurston. “Having the space to carry more inventory will allow us to better meet our customers’ demands in both the breadth of products they order and delivery time.”

Bahamian contractors performed the refurbishment, including TMC Engineering, which replaced the roof with its Star Building quality metal product. The new site also houses the Nassau corporate office.

Spread across nearly three acres of land, the new warehouse is in close proximity to the fast-growing western New Providence community. The Bahamian Brewery and Beverage Company intends to service this expansion with a ninth Jimmy’s Wines and Spirits location, which is set to open in late summer.

“Since the very beginning, our mission has been to provide our customers with great products and experiences. Thanks to the support of our loyal customers over the last 10-plus years, we have been able to outgrow our current premises and need larger facilities,” said Gary Sands, the company’s general manager. “With this expansion, we hope to improve the quality of service we can give them in return.”

Despite the distribution centre’s relocation from Nassau Street, the ‘Bottle Return Depot’ will remain at that location, acting as the hub for the company’s recycling initiative. The operational hours for the depot are Monday through Friday from 8 am to noon.

“We are glad to keep that connection to the community alive as it demonstrates our core value of being ‘Truly Bahamian’. We truly appreciate your support and would like to extend a sincere thank you on behalf of the Bahamian Brewery Family,” said Nathanial Middleton, manager of the Nassau Street operation.

The Bahamian Brewery and Beverage Company currently collects about 50 percent of the beer bottles it sells, but expects this percentage to increase. The bottle buy-back program was expanded to Abaco in July in a bid to reduce waste going to the landfill, create micro-economies, and offer customers a better price.

When the company opened its flagship retail store in Grand Bahama, Jimmy’s Wines and Spirits, it was primarily designed to take its brands to its customers and help promote sales. Jimmy’s now boasts eight distribution centers in New Providence, North Eleuthera, Freeport, and Marsh Harbour.

Along with the locally-produced beer, Jimmy’s is the distributor for Anheuser-Busch and Philip Morris International products, as well as brands such as Tito’s vodka, Macallan whiskey, and Jackson Family Wines.