KEVIN MILKEY
Kevin Milkey, our visionary founder, made the leap from a successful insurance career to the craft beer world. His passion and expertise drive the success of our craft beer brewery.
After retiring from a successful career in insurance, Kevin has decided to take his talents to the craft beer industry. Exactly what those talents are remains debatable. But what is not debatable is his love of beer and spending time at craft breweries. Prior to establishing Grand Central Brewhouse, Kevin was one of the three original employees at American Strategic Insurance, more commonly known as ASI, a property insurance company based in St. Petersburg.
After 21 years at ASI and following the acquisition of ASI by Progressive Insurance Group, Kevin retired from ASI. But long before he retired, he dreamt of owning a craft brewery someday. Kevin was an early enthusiast of craft beers, long before most people had heard of craft beers or microbrews. Before any craft breweries opened locally, Kevin regularly stopped into Shep’s on Fourth Street to pick up new craft beer to sample from around the country.
Kevin, his wife Jeanne, and son Jack love to travel and craft breweries, pubs, beer halls, and beer tours became a significant part of the itinerary wherever they traveled in both the U.S. and Europe. The laid-back environment and large variety of innovative beers at craft breweries presented the ideal combination to spend quality time.
In recent years, the brewery stops have become “research” trips. Kevin has incorporated many ideas from breweries and pubs from around the world into his vision for Grand Central Brewhouse, most notably serving beer directly from serving tanks. Kevin has also completed the Brewing Arts Program offered by USF St. Petersburg where he not only learned how to brew beer but gained foundational knowledge of owning and operating a brewery.
Kevin moved to Florida from New York City in 1991 and quickly fell in love with the Tampa Bay area. Away from the brewery, Kevin is very active in the community, sitting on two charitable boards and supporting several local non-profits through the Milkey Family Foundation he established with Jeanne to support local charities in the St. Petersburg area. He is a huge sports fan and enthusiastically supports our Tampa Bay professional teams. An avid runner, Kevin has completed 11 marathons, which helps complement his other passion, beer.
