DUBUQUE STAR BREWING COMPANY

DUBUQUE STAR BREWING COMPANY. Iowa's oldest brewery. Founded by the Rhomberg family in 1898, the brewery was sold in the 1970s to Joseph PICKETT and Sons, Inc. Ownership transferred again in the 1980s when the brewery was sold to AGRI Industries of West Des Moines. They produced Rhomberg Beer until 1985. The efforts were not successful, and the brewery closed in 1985.

AGRI closed the brewery in 1983 claiming stiff competition from rival BREWERIES and low profits. In 1984 a group of Milwaukee investors announced their intentions to reopen the brewery. Dubuque Star was purchased in October 1989, by ZELE BREWING COMPANY of Seattle, Washington. It was anticipated at the time of the sale that the production of Zele products would add an additional twenty thousand barrels to Dubuque Star's annual production.

As part of the riverfront renovation efforts, the city of Dubuque acquired the building through eminent domain proceedings. Work began to renovate the brewery and a Madison, Wisconsin based company was brought in to redevelop the site. They were unable to bring any tenants in for the brewery.

A group of local investors led by developer Wayne Briggs founded Port of Dubuque LLC to develop the brewery site. On March 23, 2006 Stone Cliff Winery announced it had signed an agreement with Port of Dubuque LLC to lease part of the brewery. Stone Cliff moved its entire production operation to the historic Dubuque Star Brewery at the Port of Dubuque in May of 2007. The Star Restaurant and Ultra Lounge offers a 12,000 square facility for dining and entertainment. The Dubuque Star brewing company is owned and operated by Jeffery Monroe in Iowa City, Iowa,

Dubuque Star Brewery has been an important site of several MOTION PICTURES shot in the Dubuque area. In the late 1970s ZIGGY'S was used for several scenes of the movie F.I.S.T.. The movie Take This Job and Shove It, starring Art Carney, was shot at the brewery during the summer of 1980.