Myron Johnson's death in 1995, and the changes in ownership that would soon follow, sent the outdated brewery into bankruptcy by January 1997. The brewery's debt at the time was estimated at somewhere between $4.5 million and $11 million.
It was in June of 1997 that an investment group surfaced who was interested in acquiring the brewery. The group comprised of former Coors Beer executives, Dan & Mabel Coborn of the Coborn Grocery and Convenience Store chain and turnaround specialist Judy Charles put a proposal in front of the First National Bank of Cold Spring, the City of Cold Spring and Stearns County.
The story that evolved out of this 1997 proposal is a modern day Cinderella story. Within a year the group invested well over 2 million dollars into plant equipment to modernize and improve productivity. By July of 1998, the investment group had the plant operating at 30% capacity employing 30 persons and on the brink of making money.
By 2000, things were going so well that John Lenore, a businessman initially interested in the brewery doing custom bottling of his products, decided he wanted a greater say in future of the company. In 2003, Lenore bought out the final partner of the 1997 investment group and became the sole owner of what has now become the Gluek Brewing Company.
Sales over this time increased from the low of 40,000 cases per year back in 1994, to 500,000 cases in 1999 and over 4 million cases in 2003. The final estimates for 2004 indicate total production to have been somewhere around 8 million cases.
The Gluek Brewing Company has emerged from the financial and management crisis of the mid 90's to become a successful and lucrative brewery in the 21st century. The company is recognized as the preferred co-packer of Energy Drinks in the United States – one of only three similar operations in the entire country. It now employs over 120 full-time employees and operates 3 shifts running 24 hours a day throughout the year.
In the Spring of 2005, Gluek Brewing Company will begin construction of a new 100,000 square foot warehouse to better handle the continued growth of its annual production. While the recent success is strongly accredited to the company's employees and management, Gluek’s renaissance of success would have been impossible if not for the successful cooperation and support of the City of Cold Spring, Stearns County, and the initial investment group. All parties took a risk in working with the brewery, but clearly it has paid off for everyone.
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