Fort Worth
Big expansion, hundreds of jobs brewing for this longtime Fort Worth beer distributor
.JPG "Ben E. Keith Foods photographed Friday August 26, 2005.(Special/Richard W. Rodriguez)")
Food and beverage distributor Ben E. Keith is looking to expand its south Fort Worth operation.
The 185,000-square-foot expansion would bring more than 280 new jobs to the warehouse in the Carter Industrial Park. Ben E. Keith plans to invest $22 million in construction, of which at least $3 million would go to Fort Worth-based companies, said Michael Hennig with Fort Worth’s economic development department.
The Fort Worth City Council on Feb. 17 will consider a seven-year tax abatement worth 50 percent of the property’s improved value.
That abatement comes with an agreement Ben E. Keith will spend at least $900,000 with Fort Worth supplies and use minority- and women-owned businesses for at least 15 percent of the construction, Hennig said.
The abatement equals an estimated $877,000 over the seven-year term.
Ben E. Keith has been based in Fort Worth since its inception in 1906. Anheuser-Busch InBev products as well as craft beers like Deep Ellum, Founders and Lagunitas are distributed through Ben E. Keith. The company also handles a variety of food service products.
Luke Ranker covers the intersection of people and government focused on Fort Worth and Tarrant County. He came to Texas from the plains of Kansas, where he wrote about a lot, including government, crime and courts in Topeka. He survived a single winter in Pennsylvania as a breaking news reporter. He can be reached at 817-390-7747 or lranker@star-telegram.com.
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