County's plans with Hunga Dunga Brewing scrapped

COLFAX — During the Port of Whitman County’s meeting on Friday, Dec. 19, it was updated to the public that the plans to expand Hunga Dunga Brewing operations to the Port’s Pullman Industrial Park have been canceled.

The Port of Whitman received a $2 million low-interest loan from the Washington State Community Economic Revitalization Board (CERB) last year to construct a new Hunga Dunga Brewing Company building at the industrial park in Pullman.

The loan would have been used to expand the business’s production capacity in Pullman by designing and constructing a 12,000-square-foot facility, including utility extensions and commercial kitchen space.

Hunga Dunga Brewing had planned on investing $500,000 into the project and expected to create 43 jobs.

According to Port Spokeswoman Rebekah Huber, the state’s new requirements on financing, prevailing wages and apprenticeships that went into effect during the summer have made the project infeasible for the brewing company.

Hunga Dunga Brewing is founded and based out of Moscow, Idaho.