When Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced that a military-themed brewery was coming to Norfolk’s Railroad District in July 2023, the state offered the company more than $300,000 in grants and tax breaks.
But Armed Forces Brewing Co., which closed its Norfolk taproom and production facility in March, never completed the grant process or received those funds, according to state agencies. And it’s unclear whether the brewery, which is facing debt and a lawsuit threat, used the tax breaks either.
The brewery arrived in Norfolk in 2023, attracting controversy with its aggressive, testosterone-fueled marketing and brand ambassador Robert O’Neill, the Navy SEAL who claimed to have killed Osama bin Laden.
When the brewery left earlier this year, CEO Alan Beal blamed what he called the “local woke mob” for undermining efforts to successfully do business in Hampton Roads.
Virginia has incentive tools it traditionally uses to attract companies to relocate to the state. It offered several of those to the previously Maryland-based Armed Forces: up to $24,500 in Virginia Jobs Investment Program grants through the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, up to $213,600 in Enterprise Zone grants through the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development and up to $70,260 in manufacturing sales and use tax exemptions through the Virginia Department of Taxation.
However, the grant money was never used. Armed Forces was eligible to receive $700 for each net new, full-time job created within 36 months, for a maximum amount of $24,500, said Virginia Economic Development Partnership spokesperson Pryor Green in an email.
“The company accepted the incentive offer but never completed necessary steps to finalize those incentives,” Green said.
Armed Forces also failed to apply for any of the Enterprise Zone grants, which are awarded to companies that create jobs or improve property in certain targeted areas, according to Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development spokesperson Alexis Mehretab in an email.
