Iconic Beer Brewery In Essex County Will Shut Down, Company Sells Plant

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — An iconic beer brewery in North Jersey will be shutting down, spokespeople confirmed Thursday.

According to Anheuser-Busch, the company has sold its brewery on Route 1 in Newark to the Goodman Group, which plans to repurpose it for “industrial manufacturing and logistics uses.”

The Newark plant will close in early 2026, along with other Anheuser-Busch breweries in Fairfield, California and Merrimack, New Hampshire. Production will shift to the company’s other U.S. locations.

Nearly 475 full-time workers at the three facilities will be offered jobs elsewhere in the company or a severance package, spokespeople said.

Anheuser-Busch is the maker of well-known beer brands such as Michelob Ultra, Busch Light, Budweiser, Bud Light and Stella Artois.

The Newark plant opened in 1951 and is the second-oldest of the company’s breweries.

Over the last five years, Anheuser-Busch says it has invested $2 billion in its facilities across the country, including an $8 million investment in its flagship St. Louis brewery announced last year.

Unionized workers with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters picketed outside the Newark plant last year, seeking higher pay, better job security, more secure benefits and increased retirement benefits.

• See Related: NJ Beer Workers Picket Outside Anheuser-Busch Brewery In Newark

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