Floodwaters delay grand opening of Kentucky veteran’s dream business

SHEPHERDSVILLE, Ky. — Even as flood waters have receded the City of Shepherdsville continues to warn residents that certain areas like the park are still being cleaned up. 

For a new veteran-owned business, Salt River Brewing Company, their original grand opening date was a washout as the Salt River flooded their floors. 

After a quick response from the community owner of the brewery, Adam Kelty, said he’s glad they could officially open just in time for the holiday weekend. His dreams he’s been working months on has finally become reality. 

“I’ve been kind of waiting for this for four months,” Kelty said. “It’s here so yeah it’s just incredible to see everybody in here. I’m a Kentucky native. I was born here in Bullitt County and raised in Mt. Washington.”

The brewery is the first of its kind within the Bullitt County city. Brooks resident Robin Wilhelm said she’s been keeping a close eye on the establishment’s process. 

“We don’t have a lot of nice options here in Shepherdsville,” Wilhelm said. “So we were really excited to see them open and wanted to come check them out.”

Kelty just retired from the military on April 1 after serving four years in the Navy and another four years in the Army. He said this new venture is his way of settling back home into civilian life. 

“That day that we received our license we were going to open,” he said. “We got our license last Wednesday. So technically we should open last Wednesday. So we got delayed about a week and two days.”

But Mother Nature had other plans as a flood buried Shepherdsville underwater including the brewery. As soon as the floods cleared up Kelty said they started working fast to recover.

“It took about four days of everything drying,” he said. “We laid the floor in three days. Additionally, it was about an extra $9,500 for the floor and the trim and a little bit of other damage that it cost. You know, some people have $250,000 homes they’re trying to replace right now. So 10,000 compared to that is a lot better.”

“It shows how hard they were willing to work to make this happen,” Wilhelm said. “That’s a good feeling. They want to succeed as much as we do.”

The watering hole also partnered with a pizza company to complement their drinks. Co-owner of Get Fired Pizza Brian Arnett said Shepherdsville has needed something like this. 

“We were kind of the last piece of the puzzle,” Arnett said. “The way everyone showed out for us and we had a lot of volunteers come in and really help us pick this place up and get it moving again. What they did in days would have taken us weeks.”

So if you plan to visit don’t forget what those taps went through to fill your drink.