Pensacola Mayor-elect D.C. Reeves sells Perfect Plain Brewing Co. to NOLA-based brewery
Perfect Plain Brewing Co. was sold to New Orleans-based Urban South Brewery, the two companies announced Tuesday.
The sale comes after Perfect Plain co-founder D.C. Reeves was elected mayor of Pensacola Aug. 23.
Under the sale agreement, Urban South will assume operations of the four brands under the Perfect Plain roof — Perfect Plain Brewing Co., Garden & Grain, Perennial and The Well — according to the announcement.
The sale officially closes Oct. 1
Reeves told the News Journal the sale came about after he and Jacob Landry, founder of Urban South Brewery, became friends. The two companies have collaborated before to produce special runs of beer.
Reeves said he had a lot of emotions about selling the business he and co-founder Reed Odeneal built after getting the idea in a living room in North Carolina.
"I'm also excited for what I have in front of me personally to make sure I'm the most prepared mayor I can possibly be," Reeves said. "And I'm excited for Urban South and all of our current employees who are going to continue to grow the brand and continue to do what they've done to get it here and really watch them make it fly."
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Landry told the News Journal that Urban South had success in distribution and Perfect Plain had success in the hospitality space, and he saw an opportunity to bring the strengths of the two companies together.
"We love the team (at Perfect Plain)," Landry said. "It's a super strong team. We plan to keep everyone on the team because that was really one of the reasons why this all came together."
Reeves said the success of the business is thanks in large part because of the employees.
"A big reason Urban South, as they were looking to invest in Pensacola area, the reason that they were talking to us is because of the brand of hospitality we had built, which is really a testament to our management and every employee we have," Reeves said.
Urban South was founded in 2016 and has become the second largest brewery by volume in Louisiana. It recently opened a second Urban South brewery in Houston, Texas.
The sale price was not disclosed but the company announced it would begin canning and offering Perfect Plain beers for distribution in partnership with The Lewis Bear Co. across the Florida Gulf Coast.
Landry said Perfect Plain beers would begin appearing first in restaurants and then later in local grocery stores.
The sale also comes as Reeves had taken a step away from the day-to-day operations of the company to run for mayor.
The City Charter requires the mayor to work to their city office full time.
Reeves said the founding of Perfect Plain played an important role in his life, but the sale allows him to focus all his attention on being mayor.
"The reality is that I'm taking on this responsibility of leading our community forward," Reeves said. "So that certainly plays a role in a decision about something you grew with your own hands over five years of time and is important to you."
Jim Little can be reached at jwlittle@pnj.com and 850-208-9827.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pensacola Mayor-elect D.C. Reeves sells Perfect Plain brewery
