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Monday, October 18, 2010
Deep Ellum Brewing Co. gets zoning go-ahead from city of Dallas
Brewery hopeful can set up shop in Deep Ellum.
DALLAS — Deep Ellum Brewing Co., an upstart hoping to open a beer brewery in Deep Ellum, jumped its first hurdle on Monday by acquiring zoning approval from the city.
From the website:
"The City of Dallas has agreed that a microbrewery does not merit banishment to a heavy industrial area of Dallas. We’ve been classified light industrial, and even more importantly, as a food manufacturing plant. This will allow us to open up shop just about anywhere down in Deep Ellum, or as it’s known in zoning terms – Planned Development District 269, Tract A."
This is terrific news for John Reardon, whose brainchild is the Deep Ellum Brewing Company. A brewing aficionado and former bar-owner, he hopes to be able to brew beer in Dallas.
"We'll be a multi-state regional brewery that can sell our product across the United States," Reardon says.
Reardon got the beer bug after going to college in Colorado, where he began home-brewing. "Back in those days, Fat Tire was a regional beer, you couldn't get it outside of Colorado," he recalls. "I remember on breaks, I'd load up my car with Shiner."
He's spent the past few months futilely searching for an appropriate spot actually located within Deep Ellum proper, but it hasn't been as easy as he hoped.
"We've offered letters of intent on a couple of buildings, and we're still pursuing spots, but we haven't been met with open arms like we thought we would be," he says. "Some of the property owners have sat on these buildings, sold on a dream that the neighborhood will come back."
Although he's keeping the exact addresses to himself, he says he has his eye on two warehouse spaces "in the southern part of Deep Ellum" -- space that will be shared with other tenants.
One thing they won't be doing, thanks to Texas' peculiar alcohol laws, is functioning as a brewpub that can sell a pint of beer on site.
"Under Texas law, you can't be involved in two levels of the alcohol trade -- you're either manufacture-and-distribution or you're retail. Being a production microbrewery, our job is to make beer. We wouldn't be allowed to sell to consumer. But we are definitely rallying for the opportunity to be able to sell what we make, down the road."
Mike Orren contributed to this story.
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Pop icon Peter Max exhibits paintings at the Crescent Hotel this summer
unlisted, humbleness is a word according to a few dictionaries, but I agree that humility is better.
Pop icon Peter Max exhibits paintings at the Crescent Hotel this summer
"humbleness"??????
Um, Mr. Means (reporter), your fourth-grade English teacher is going to smack yo
jjerrier, anonymous:
If he is still hunting for space, see if someone can get him connected with Larry Vineyard...in my personal experience they have been very creative in wanting to get new tenants in Deep Ellum. They office right down there too...
Larry Vineyard Madison Partners, LLC 2622 Commerce Dallas, TX 75226 214/217-4309 direct 214/217-4300 main 214/217-0500 fax 214/212-0022 cell
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Clay213, anonymous:
As if Deep Ellum didn't smell bad enough already
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holman, anonymous:
Check out the old Dr. Pepper Building at the corner of 2nd Ave and Hickory Street. No sense paying more to be on Elm, Main or Commerce when you can be off 2nd Ave and I-30 in Deep Ellum. I bet they can deliver 20,000 sq.ft. at least. And they have parking.
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Tahini, anonymous:
Hop me buttercup baby
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Scott Doyle, verified:
No sense paying more to be on Elm, Main or Commerce
Especially if you can't serve.
Hopefully there will at least be tours like other north Texas breweries. Preferably at no charge. =)
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Scott Doyle, verified:
Btw, wonder if they have considered a setup similar to Schlafly in St. Louis (just visited)? www.schlafly.com
They have a tap-room downtown, entirely separate from brewing/bottling location a few miles away. Could probably save a significant amount on real estate by selecting a serving joint in the heart of D.E. while brewing in a less costly area.
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yonj46, anonymous:
Scott still against the law in TX. Brewery owners are not even allowed to be 1% owners in any bar. Archaic and asinine but it is what it is
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john2181, anonymous:
Greatly appreciate the insightful comments.
We've got our sights set on South Deep Ellum, which is all I'm going to say for now. While we agree that it does not make much sense to locate ourselves in the thick of things, we still wish to be close enough to weave our way into the future framework of Deep Ellum. It's an amazing area with an even more amazing past, and we wish to support it through our creative passion for good beer.
The brewery will definitely have a tasting/tour aspect, but under Texas law, we are unable to sell pints directly to the end consumer. Pay for the tour, drink the beer for free.
If you have any more questions, please feel free to contact me directly at john (at) deepellum (dot) net
And Clay213, nobody likes a negative Nancy, especially when it comes to beer. So quit complaining, grab a pint, and let's all rejoice in the fact that Dallas, Texas will soon have a craft brewery to call its own.
Cheers!
John Reardon Deep Ellum Brewing Company
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Clay213, anonymous:
Beer is disgusting. So no. I won't 'grab a pint.' Grab my balls.
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rabiance21, anonymous:
Hello, everybody, the good shoping place, the new season approaching, click in. Let’s Facelift bar! ====accept credit card and paypal = = = = = http://www.voguecatch.com= = = = = Air Jordan (1-24) shoes $35 UGG BOOT $50 Nike shox (R4, NZ, OZ, TL1, TL2, TL3) $35 Handbags ( Coach Lv fendi D&G) $35 T-shirts (polo, ed hardy, lacoste) $16 Jean (True Religion, ed hardy, coogi)$34 Sunglasses ( Oakey, coach, Gucci, Armaini)$15 New era cap $16 Bikini (Ed hardy, polo) $18 FREE SHIPPING = = =http://www.voguecatch.com= = =
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Scott Doyle, verified:
If you can't tell, nobody likes Clay.
Scott still against the law in TX. Brewery owners are not even allowed to be 1% owners in any bar. Archaic and asinine but it is what it is
Surely a holding structure side-steps that? Isn't it simply the licensed entity that is restricted from double-dipping? I bet lawya boys can fix 'er up good if they do some homework...
Pay for the tour
(sigh) We shall see.
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Clay213, anonymous:
If you can't tell-- I don't give a rats ass. Go get killed by a drunk driver, loser.
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Scott Doyle, verified:
Case closed. Thank you for not beating around the bush, sir!
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Garland Symphony, anonymous:
Fabulous news! I know the antiquated laws have been SUCH a hold up. I am really looking forward to this! Clay, I don't think you're happy about anything. And really, that's a shame. Cheer up, buttercup.
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scooterhendon, anonymous:
It' OK, Clay will die an unhappy loser. At least he'll be able to say "I really showed those guys my intellect on the internet!"
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john2181, anonymous:
Clay, please go sit over at the kid's table and let the grownups talk.
Scott, to answer your question...
In Texas, we operate under the three tier system, meaning you either manufacture, distribute, or retail. You cannot be actively involved in more than one tier at any given time. This is why it has taken me this long to follow through on my dream, as I have been a bar owner for the last 6 years.
The legal structure does not make a difference. Anyone who's an owner, investor, manager, member, or partner must be disclosed to TABC (Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission). These rules were written by defeated prohibitionists so they don't always make sense. In fact, even TABC will admit to their archaic nature. They enforce while the politicians create, or as I like to call it, F stuff up.
The State argues that this is the best way to make sure that taxes are being paid, while it seems more apparent that these rules benefit the distributors who have roughly 13 lobbyists in Austin. Several breweries who have gone before us have lobbied to change the laws; however, it's a funny system as a law change will only help the little guy. So, once a brewery gets big enough, there's no reason to keep fighting the good fight.
I think even if given the opportunity to operate a brewpub in tandem with distribution, I would opt against it. I'm proud to soon have a product that I can use to help others build their business, but if I were worried about sales at my own establishment, I would have conflicted interests.
This hits just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to archaic liquor laws in Texas. It's amazing to me that we still have dry counties, as it clearly makes more sense to make someone drive to get their drink on. It's kind of like that bumper sticker, "guns don't kill people, people kill people." But hey, that's a whole 'nother animal...
Until next time, Cheers!
John Reardon Deep Ellum Brewing Company
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jtmbls, anonymous:
Yay beer! Boo Clay!
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Scott Doyle, verified:
I think even if given the opportunity to operate a brewpub in tandem with distribution, I would opt against it.
Fair enough. I assumed T-Gub mentioned it isn't an option because of your desire, clearly I am the burro.
The State argues that this is the best way to make sure that taxes are being paid, while it seems more apparent that these rules benefit the distributors who have roughly 13 lobbyists in Austin. Several breweries who have gone before us have lobbied to change the laws; however, it's a funny system as a law change will only help the little guy. So, once a brewery gets big enough, there's no reason to keep fighting the good fight.
Can't knock the state too hard, sir - clearly you're just as interested in profit as they are in tax revenue/lobbyist kickbacks. =p
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tleejr, anonymous:
So, how do Rock Bottom, Hops and others get away with operating brew-pubs in the greater metropolitan Dallas Texas area? I don't think it's always about the "peculiar Texas law", it's about greasing policy-makers palms, as it always has been in Texas, (and elsewhere).
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Worzel_Gummidge, anonymous:
Wineries have an exemption too. I.e. they sell at the winery.
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kfw5105, anonymous:
tleejr - Rock Bottom, Hops, Gordon Biersch, etc. can operate brewpubs in Texas because their production facilties are not located in Texas. Under Current Laws, Shiner, Rahr, St. Arnold and other Texas based breweries can not own (even a little) a bar that is seperate from the brewery.
Worzel - Correct, wineries do have the exemption to sell wine from the production facility to the end consumer. Breweries in Texas are trying to get the same exemption but would only apply to breweries that produce less than (I think) 75,000 barrels (1 barrel = 2 15.5 gallon kegs) per year. To put that into perspective, St. Arnold is getting two new fermenters which will put their production numbers at an estimated 50,000 barrels per year, they make quite a bit of beer and have been open about 16 years.
Check out http://i-love-beer.blogspot.com/2009/... or google House Bill 2094 (In Texas) for further information on small breweries selling limited amounts of beer to the end consumer.
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alexander troup, verified:
They have been brewing beer in that area for over 100 years......I recall reading some deed and titles that Indiana street was one old Brewery that came up call it.... Lemp in 1903..... as was the German name to be...while the old Sons Of Herman has its deep roots for that reason.....as a Beer Hall or Haus....
Now specualtion and time frame , I give it a year....if they promote it right, then again I am loyal to Shiner Bock......A/T ...Have drunk over 500 gallons of German beer...in one sitting when I was sane...hahaha..
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Clay213, anonymous:
I hope you all die of liver cancer
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alexander troup, verified:
clay that is a sad thing to say..
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rcodymartin, anonymous:
Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code Title 3, Ch. 12
Brewpubs are not allowed to distribute (self or otherwise) in Texas. Shipping breweries can self-distribute if they manufacture less than 75,000 bbls of beer per year. You need a manufacturer's license in Texas to make "beer" defined as less than 4% ABW. You need a brewer's permit to make "ale" defined as more than 4% ABW. The 75,000 bbls is calculated as total "beer" and "ale".
You cannot be both a brewpub (able to sell on premise) and a manufacturer (able to distribute).
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Jason Rice, verified:
What?!?!
You pissed off Clay without me? No fair!
Am I too late to get in on the liver curse?
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kfw5105, anonymous:
If you're interested in doing a little research on Texas Breweries, this website is pretty cool:
http://www.texasbreweries.com/
It's kind of out of date, and some information is limited, but an interesting read none the less.
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alexander troup, verified:
Well I love liver pattie from Hogs feed pints of beer...hahahaha.
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tonyakdunn, anonymous:
John, Good luck with your Brewery. I've been hearing the buzz, and was excited to see the latest news! Tonya Dunn Pink Jacket Creative tonya@pinkjacketcreative.com. We are the perfect company to help you promote your Brewery! (Look at our site, you'll see some local people YOU know)
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Scott Doyle, verified:
John, any insight on HB660?
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What do you think?