No more free beer at Busch Gardens Williamsburg
Jan 5, 2009, 2:51pm EST Updated: Jan 6, 2009, 9:33am EST
Barton Eckert, Contributing Writer
Busch Entertainment Corp. confirmed reports on Monday that it will no longer give free beer to its guests at its beer garden at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. The decision applies to Anheuser-Busch BrewMaster’s Clubs at its nine other theme parks.
Busch Entertainment Corp., is the amusement park subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev. Belgium-based InBev bought St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. in a $52 billion deal that closed in November. Anheuser-Busch is a wholly owned subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev, which is now the world’s largest brewer.
Busch Entertainment has also told employees that they will no longer receive free beer. Previously employees were allowed two cases of free Budweiser beer a month.
Visitors of legal age will be able to buy beer at the parks, which will convert their beer sampling hospitality centers into cafes and restaurants, said Fred Jacobs, a spokesman for Busch Entertainment.
"The hospitality centers had pretty limited appeal because it was for patrons who were of legal drinking age who wanted beer," he said. "We were looking for something that had a broader age appeal."
The couple dozen employees who worked in the hospitality centers will be moved to other jobs within the parks, Jacobs said.
Last month, the brewer announced it would cut 1,400 salaried workers in its beer-related divisions, leave 250 U.S. positions vacant and eliminate an additional 415 contractor positions. None of those affected jobs were in the theme parks.
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