VALDOSTA — Cheers.

Georgia Beer Company has officially announced it will open 4 p.m., Feb. 4.

The opening of the brewery has been more than five years in the making. Starting out as a Kickstarter campaign and turning into a public-private partnership with the Valdosta-Lowndes County Development Authority, Georgia Beer has been the talk of the town for the last year since groundbreaking took place in March.

To observe the grand opening, Georgia Beer has invited the community to come out. Georgia Beer will have food trucks including Hibachi Highway and may have food catered for the community, “so people cannot only drink some good beer but have some good food as well,” said Chris Jones, director of business development and founder of Georgia Beer Company.

When the business officially opens, Jones said it will have catered food or food trucks available from time to time but Georgia Beer will not serve food to customers.

“We will try to have food as often as we can, but people are also welcome to bring their own food,” he said. “You can bring a picnic lunch, you can have food delivered, you can pick food up and bring it here, but we are here to sell beer, so we are not fussy about the food because we know food and beer go well together.”

Because Georgia Beer won’t be selling any food, Jack “J. Ryce” Martin, director of brewery operations and founder, stressed that customers check to see when vendors will be at the brewery and to not “make dinner plans” assuming there will be food for purchase.

The Georgia Beer facility will be family and pet friendly.

“We plan on having some music in the background,” Jones said. “We have the beer garden outside. We are family friendly everywhere and pet friendly outside. So feel free to bring your kids and your dog.”

With the opening just a few weeks away, Jones said the company is still looking to fill a few part-time positions.

“We are currently accepting applications for assistant brewer and bartenders,” he said.

Starting Feb. 4, Georgia Beer Company, 109 S. Briggs St., will be open 4-9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, noon-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 12:30-9 p.m. Sunday. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/georgiabeerco/.

Jason Smith is a reporter at The Valdosta Daily Times. He can be contacted at 229-244-3400 ext.1257.