When we first visited East Coast Kombucha Company it was September of 2019, and they had just opened their new location in South Norwalk. The building they were in was a relic of Norwalk’s manufacturing past, and it was exciting to see a new breed of manufacturer move in.
Norwalk has a quirky history with a tradition of new beverage lines jumpstarting their existence into some pretty well-known brands. The original was Bigelow Teas. It is amazing to think that at one time, Norwalk was the headquarters of both tea and cookies! Yep, in 1947 Pepperidge Farm opened a commercial kitchen in Norwalk, starting with sliced bread, cookies, crackers, and even frozen pastries. Bigelow opened their factory in 1955 on Hoyt street, somewhat ill-timed, a major flood took out their building that year. They later also had a building on Merwin street. Both companies grew out of their Norwalk digs over the years, and their original factories became apartment buildings. So it is refreshing to see an old factory become a new factory.
But we digress. New England Brewery was ahead of the time with their rollicking brewpub concept in the 80s. The factory on Meadow street became the brewery with its big copper kettle visible through the windows. Then came SoBe beverages got their start here, despite being named after South Beach Miami. SpikedSeltzer too.
This brings us back to East Coast Kombucha. They found a home on Chesnut street in the former shirt company factory. Kombucha is a fermented tea. They produce an organic pro-biotic brew in a variety of flavors.
The building they are in is the former J & J Cash Building. Which today means nothing, but back in 1905 they were the name to know when it came to silk ribbons. Originally founded in Coventry England in 1846, the Cash brothers grew their line of textiles to America and chose Norwalk as the location of their first American production facility.
They grew the business fast and furiously expanding manufacturing to Ontario, Canada and Los Angeles, California. Sales sales offices were established in New York, New York; Chicago, Illinois; San Francisco, California; Santiago, Cuba by 1930. By the late-1930s, the Norwalk facility employed between 100 and 200 people. Things continued more or less until the late 1970s, but by the late 1980s, the factory doors closed in South Norwalk.
Now the location is home to not just East Coast Kombucha, but also Space Cat Brewery.
57 Chestnut St
Norwalk, CT
203-904-2121
