Four years and a vote by the mayor of Delta, Four Winds Brewing Company's application for new location is denied.
In an era when someone can pick up a phone and purchase a latte at a nearby coffee shop, hail a cab, or pay your phone bill there are still things that require human oversight - like building permits. Most of you probably have never had to invest considerable human resources (including artists and contractors), time, or money, to start let alone expand a business. Unfortunately for Four Winds Brewing Company, located in Delta, British Columbia, they can now add their name to the list of businesses that have been denied a permit for expansion. And it all came down to one vote.
image used wit permission by Four Winds Brewing Company
Earlier this month, at a contested Delta City Council vote, Four Winds' future was held up by 3 counsilors against, 3 in favour, leaving the city's mayor, George Harvie, to decide and in doing so he voted no. The end result of this decision sets the brewery back four years, without a clear future when the brewery and taproom will expand beyond its current location at 4 7355 72 Street. Taking to social media the brewery had this to say.
We are extremely disappointed by this news. We spent four years passionately developing our dream with Century Group, taking input from members of city staff. We believed that we had designed a facility that would have not only suited the original vision for the Southlands, it would have been a tremendous complement to the community we are proud to have grown up in; the community in which we are now raising our own families.
Performing a post-mortem, the brewery believes the decision to deny Four Winds' application is associated with misunderstanding how a 27,000 square foot space would be developed and configured. To put it another way, this application wasn't just for a larger brewery rather the brewery would only consuming approximately 8,000 square feet. The rest of the construction would incorporate:
Retail/Lounge area - 2,000 sqft.
Restaurant/Dining Room - 2,000 sqft.
Private Dining Room - 1000 sqft.
Kitchen - 1,500 sqft.
Staff Room - 1000 sqft.
Office Space - 4,000 sqft.
Packaging Area - 2,500 sqft.
Refrigeration & Storage area - 5,000 sqft.
image used wit permission by Four Winds Brewing Company
By comparison, Four Winds Brewing Company's existing operations operate in multiple addresses, with the public space - a taproom, kitchen, and modest gift shop - masking the breweries chaotic operations, that make Four Winds Brewing Company. Despite the setback, the brewery is planning on working with the city along with Century Group to reconfigure a space that not only supports Four Winds' desire to bring all their operations together but maintain the Southlands' community value. Taking stock the brewery had to this to say about proposed alternatives.
Although we will consider this option, a full craft brewing facility with an attached restaurant is our main priority. We want nothing more than to stay in Delta and share in the unique nature of the Southlands project. However, we need to do what is best for our business, our 45 employees, and their families by considering all our options.
Concluding on their Facebook page, the brewery took time to thank all who call Delta home, who supported their Southlands project, they will never be forgotten.
If you want to read the full response to the decision, go to https://www.facebook.com/FourWindsBrewingCo/posts/2053667888064906
