Southern Brewing Company
Building at corner of East Zack and North Pierce streets. 1964 Burgert Brothers. Courtesy, Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library System
Northeast corner of East Zack and North Pierce streets, Tampa, FL. 2021. © Chip Weiner
Beer has been popular in Tampa since the 1800s, though it went underground during prohibition in the 1920s. In 1896, V.M. Ybor and Edward Manara built the Tampa Florida Brewery serving the southeast and Cuba. Southern Brewing Company opened here after prohibition at the corner of Zack and Pierce Streets in 1934 with a capacity to brew 100,000 barrels annually. The company raised money by offering company stock to the public through newspaper advertising. Demand for their product skyrocketed. They started the trend that Busch, Schlitz, and others would follow, inviting the public to tour the facility and enjoy a complimentary beer. The company sold to International Breweries Inc. in 1956, just as Schlitz and Anheuser-Busch came online in Tampa in 1956. IBI closed the plant in 1963, unable to compete. The property is now a private parking lot for Frontier Communications. The former Tampa Fire Station #1, built in 1911 and now the Tampa Firefighters Museum, can be seen on the left.
From Burgert Brothers: Look Again Vol. 1
Building at corner of East Zack and North Pierce streets. Courtesy, Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library System
Southern Brewing Company on corner of Pierce and Zack Streets Burgert Brothers. Courtesy, Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library System
[A advertisement for SB Beer] (1940). Robertson and Fresh. (1940). Robertson and Fresh. Courtesy of the USF Digital Collection
Hospitality room at Southern Brewing Company, 700 Zack Street. Burgert Brothers. Courtesy, Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library System
Vats at the Southern Brewing Company (1956). Robertson and Fresh. Courtesy of the USF Digital Collection
Keg department of Southern Brewing Company. Burgert Brothers. Courtesy, Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library System
Bottles of SB Beer and Silver Bar Ale. Burgert Brothers. Courtesy, Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library System
The Burgert Collection has this image titled [Warehouse demolition on corner of Pierce and Polk Street]. It was the demolition of the International Breweries warehouse formerly Southern Brewing) that was demolished in 1964.