Kansas City Branch, Pabst Brewing Company

Established in Milwaukee by Jacob Best in 1844, Pabst opened a branch in Chicago in 1878 and a second branch here in 1879 at 100 Main, then the corner of Commercial and Main. By 1898, the brewing complex included buildings with addresses from 2 Main to 110 Main. In 1911, Pabst's Kansas City branch was operated on the southeast corner of 21st and Central which later became the headquarters of the Pendergast Distributing Company.

Jacob Best operated the original brewery with his sons, with Phillip Best taking over operations of the Milwaukee brewery in the 1850s. Best's other sons, Lorenz and Charles, also entered the brewing business, establishing the Plank Road Brewery in 1850. Four years later, Plank Road was purchased by Frederick Miller, founder of the vast Miller brewing empire. Phillip's daughter Maria married steamship captain Frederick Pabst in 1862, and just two years later, the son-in-law invested his stake in the steamship business into his wife's father's brewery. Pabst worked to expand the family business and purchased half of his father-in-law's stake in the brewery in 1865. When Phillip Best sold his remaining stake, Frederick Pabst became president of the company, which continued to operate as the Philip Best Brewing Company until 1899, when the brand name changed to Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer. By that time, Pabst operated a vast brewing network. Established in 1879, this Kansas City facility was the second branch of that empire.

H. James Maxwell and Bob Sullivan. Hometown Beer - A History of Kansas City's Breweries. Kansas City, MO. Omega Innovative Marketing, 1999.

Michael R. Reilly, "Pabst Brewing Company," Sussex-Lisbon Area Historical Society, 1996. https://slah.us/pabst-brewing-company-milwaukee-wi/ Accessed 10/13/2024.