Article By: Cris Gastner
The City of Harmony, MN and CEDA Vice President, Chris Giesen have been working with the owners of the new micro-distillery Harmony Spirits on a potential project in downtown Harmony for the last four years and on May 29th both sides got to celebrate all of their work with an official groundbreaking ceremony to announce the project.
To assist in making the project happen, the City of Harmony is providing the business with a parcel of land, a $25,000 revolving loan, a $10,000 forgivable loan, and Giesen’s technical assistance and small business counseling. Harmony Spirits will be building a new facility and create 3 full-time jobs to start with the possibility of 2 more full-time and a few part-time jobs after they are open and operating.
The property on which Harmony Spirits will be building its new facility is part of a redevelopment project the City started in 2005 when, with some assistance from the MN Department of Employment and Economic Development, they purchased and redeveloped some blighted properties in the downtown district. “When we made the investment in redeveloping those lots in our downtown, we weren’t looking for the fastest project, we were looking for the right project for that area.” Said Harmony City Administrator Jerome Illg “We feel that the Harmony Spirits project is a great addition to our community because not only are they bringing a facility and jobs but their business will also draw many additional visitors to our downtown which benefits all of our other businesses as well in terms of potential customers.”
Site work will likely begin immediately and the owners are hoping to have the facility completed by early July and to begin producing product in August. Harmony Spirits will produce whiskey, vodka, gin, and rum all made from locally sourced grains which will be recycled after the distilling process and used as feed for local cattle.