Fast-growing brewery company buys Island Packet, Beaufort Gazette building in Bluffton
The building that has housed The Island Packet since 1999 and The Beaufort Gazette since 2008 now has a new owner.
Watterson Brands, the owner of Burnt Church Distillery in Bluffton, purchased the property at 10 Buck Island Road for $6.3 million in a deal recorded in Beaufort County public documents on March 17.
The 9.08-acre site includes more than 72,000 square feet of office and warehouse space at the intersection of Buck Island Road and U.S. 278.
Ally Hughes, director of PR and community engagement for Watterson Brands, said it’s too early to release details about the company’s long-term plans for the former newspaper office.
“We are so excited about the potential of this building,” she wrote in an email, “... but, at this point, the building will be used for storage until plans are further defined.”
On March 10, Watterson announced a plan to expand Side Hustle Brewing Co. from Arrow Road on Hilton Head into a larger space on Pope Avenue this summer.
The 17,000-square-foot former Bank of America building will be transformed to include indoor seating, an exterior beer garden, 20 Side Hustle craft brews on tap, a merchandise shop, and four dining options: Taco Bills, Bank Burgers, Pizza Co., and Benjamin’s food truck.
As printing operations have been consolidated across the industry, newspapers have sold their old buildings in favor of smaller, often more-modern, locations and adopted hybrid working arrangements that allow for both in-office and work-from-home opportunities.
Employees of the Packet and Gazette will work remotely until a new office location has been chosen, according to Brian Tolley, president and editor of the papers. Customers will still be able to reach the papers by phone and email.
This story was originally published March 30, 2022 at 1:58 PM.
