Buffalo roamed from 1969 to 1974 at Columbus’ Busch brewery

The Anheuser-Busch brewery has been a familiar sight along the northern loop of Interstate 270 for more than 50 years. When it opened in 1968, it was the sixth brewery for the company, which has its home plant in St. Louis. 

A small herd of buffalo and deer were brought in the next year, as there were also plans to build a theme park and/or animal reserve on the grounds. (A road named “Buffalo Parkway” near the brewery today pays homage to that idea.) 

The park plans did not come to fruition, though, and the herd of about 160 animals was relocated to Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, Virginia, in 1974. 

Even though the animal park didn’t pan out, the brewery itself at one time was heavily marketed as a tourist destination. Locals and out-of-towners alike came for guided tours and to browse in the gift shop, which carried branded items such as steins, coolers, golf shirts, caps, and “Spudswear,” featuring Bud Light’s “Spuds MacKenzie” character. 

About 500 to 600 tourists a week were coming, the Dispatch reported in 1980. Free tours were offered weekdays on the hour from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Visitors could watch the brewing operations, and in later years, the canning and bottling lines as well. Free samples of freshly brewed beer (soda for children) awaited at the tour's end. 

During 1992, the AmeriFlora expo helped increase the number of brewery tourists that year to 81,000.  

The facility’s welcome center was demolished in the late 1990s to accommodate an expansion with a new brewhouse. After that, the daily public tours were suspended. 

Contributor Linda Deitch was a Dispatch librarian for 25 years.