Union Brewing Company, Carmel's only woman-owned brewery, has to be out of its Gradle Drive taproom by Nov. 28 as the site braces for redevelopment, but owner Jessica Hayden and her partner Derek Herring say they've already lined up a bigger new home about a mile north at 513 Industrial Dr.
It's the second forced move in four years for the brewery, which Hayden purchased in 2025. According to Current Publishing, Union Brewing is among dozens of tenants whose leases are not being renewed at two buildings on the northwest corner of Gradle Drive and the Monon Greenway, as the site is prepared for redevelopment. Herring, who purchased the brewery in 2023 after its former owner moved out of state, said staying at the current location simply isn't an option.
The pair hope to reopen at the new Industrial Drive address about a week after the Gradle Drive lease runs out, the outlet reported. Union Brewing plans to throw a party to close out its time on Gradle Drive, followed by another celebration in spring once the new location is up and running.
A Decade of Dislocation Along the Monon
This isn't Union Brewing's first rodeo with Carmel's redevelopment machine. The brewery originally opened in 2012 in the Monon Square shopping center under founder Nathan Doyle before being forced out in September 2022 ahead of the complex's demolition, according to Current Publishing's 2023 reporting. Doyle told the outlet he spent nearly $250,000 out of pocket relocating to Gradle Drive, even buying a portable shipping-container cooler because he anticipated the new site would eventually face redevelopment too — a prediction that's now come true.
Carmel's city council had narrowly approved an $8.7-acre, $15 million municipal purchase of the Monon Square shopping center back in October 2018 to clear land for public-private mixed-use projects, the same outlet's 2018 coverage shows. That set the stage for Monon Square North, a $100 million first phase of redevelopment announced by the city in September 2022 and aimed at bridging the gap between Carmel City Center and Midtown, as reported by the Indianapolis Business Journal.
Redevelopment Plans Keep Shifting
The Gradle Drive site's future has been anything but settled. Keystone Group, which has owned and managed the property for several years, had proposed a $150 million mixed-use project there called the Valentina, featuring 380 apartment units, 17 townhomes, 50,000 square feet of commercial space, and a 600-space garage, per the Current Publishing report. Carmel Redevelopment Commission Director Henry Mestetsky introduced the Valentina plans to city council in late 2023, but at its first meeting of 2024, the council put the project indefinitely on hold while considering up to $23 million in developer-backed bonds, so incoming Mayor Sue Finkam's administration could review municipal development frameworks, the outlet's January 2024 coverage noted.
At the time of the pause, Carmel's new mayor and five new city councilors had taken office. Mestetsky told the paper he had no updates on the site's future or its impact on existing tenants. A Keystone Group spokesperson said the company remains committed to redeveloping the Gradle Drive site, plans to replace the existing industrial buildings with a mixed-use development, and described recent discussions with the city as productive and collaborative — though the spokesperson did not provide timing details, adding only that Keystone looks forward to sharing more as plans progress.
Other ambitious redevelopment plans nearby have stalled, too. Carmel officials confirmed this past summer that they had scrapped The Union, a proposed $47 million food hall for the southern portion of the former Monon Square site, after anticipated regional and tourism grant funding failed to materialize, according to the Duke Collective. The city council had originally endorsed that concept in April 2024 using state READI 2.0 funds.
Bigger Space, Bigger Ambitions
Hayden and Herring, a couple from Zionsville who met while working at Danny Boy Beer Works in the Village of WestClay — Herring as a brewer, Hayden at a nearby dental office — plan to use the move as a chance to grow. The new Industrial Drive location will double Union Brewing's size and include an upstairs mezzanine overlooking a stage built to host bigger touring acts and larger crowds for live music, Hayden said. The pair also plan to create a family-friendly dining area and sublease space to a chef who will serve barbecue and homemade flatbreads, expanding the brewery's offerings well beyond beer.
Herring, who has worked as a brewer for about 15 years, said finding a new Carmel location proved difficult given limited vacancies and pricey rents. He described Union Brewing as a neighborhood garage bar where regulars know one another, many of them arriving on foot or by bike along the Monon Greenway — the kind of loyal customer base the owners hope follows them a mile north.
An Industry Under Pressure
The expansion push comes as the broader craft beer industry contracts. U.S. craft beer production volume fell 4% in the first half of 2026 compared with the same period in 2025, and the number of operating craft breweries nationwide dropped 1.8% to 9,344 by mid-2026, according to the Brewers Association. Herring said national studies and sales data show U.S. consumers are drinking less than before, or not drinking at all — a trend reflected in Union Brewing's own history. The brewery stopped brewing its own beer after the 2022 relocation from Monon Square. Herring later designed original recipes and returned Union Brewing beer to shelves and taps after buying the business in 2023.
Hayden's ownership also places Union Brewing in rare company. While women held an ownership stake in 23.7% of U.S. craft breweries as of 2021, only 3% of U.S. breweries were solely owned by women, according to a 2021 Brewers Association survey. That makes Union Brewing Carmel's only woman-owned brewery as it prepares for its next chapter a mile up the road.
The upheaval also lands amid tighter city finances. Carmel projected a $10 million loss in municipal property tax revenue in 2026 due to Indiana Senate Enrolled Act 1, according to Hoodline's coverage of Carmel's budget gap. For now, Union Brewing's plan is simple: close out Gradle Drive with one last party, then reopen on Industrial Drive with more room, more music and more on the menu than beer alone.
