Covington-based Braxton Brewing has acquired Hi-Wire Brewing’s taproom location at Factory52 in Norwood.
In 2024, due to Hurricane Helene, Hi-Wire, based in Asheville, North Carolina, suffered significant damage to many of its key facilities in the city, including its headquarters and distribution warehouse. In the aftermath, CEO Adam Charnack began to explore his options.
“After Hurricane Helene destroyed our headquarters, flagship taproom, and distribution warehouse in Asheville, we had to look at our business and figure out the best path forward without knowing how we would recover from the flood. We had to think about how to ensure the health of the business, and that meant making some hard choices,” Charnack said in a press release.
As of Monday, Hi-Wire’s Norwood taproom is officially owned by Braxton Brewing. As part of the transition, current Hi-Wire employees from the Factory 52 location will be retained by Braxton Brewing, and several Hi-Wire beers will remain on tap after Braxton Brewing activates the space.
“Adam and I started the conversation roughly six months ago about what a transition of this space for our breweries might look like,” said Jake Rouse, co-founder and CEO of Braxton Brewing. “Our team has loved watching the evolution of Factory 52 and has been considering what it might be like to have a presence in one of the coolest multi-use spaces in Cincinnati. After discussing further with the team at Hi-Wire, we felt that we could build upon the incredible foundation they established at the Norwood location and carry on that legacy through this new agreement. This transition is not transactional; it’s really the start of a new friendship.”
Braxton Brewing will close the Factory52 location and One-Eyed Jacks bar at the green space, beginning Monday, for minor renovations. The taproom is set to reopen in June, according to the news release.