Saying the time is right, two Prince George residents have announced plans to open a craft brewery downtown.
The future home of CrossRoads Brewing will be at the corner of 5th Avenue and George Street – in the vacant building that has been home to many ill-fated restaurants.
But Bjorn Butow (photo left) says he and his partner Daryl Leiski (right) feel the tide has turned for the downtown core and they want to be part of the rejuvenation.
“Downtown really spoke to us, in terms of the historic downtown George Street, what’s happening with SummerFest downtown, the summer market and the beautiful Wood Innovation Centre – things are happening and it’s been a really exciting time” says Butow.
The men declined to offer any dollar figure on their investment, except to say ‘expensive’.
CrossRoads will be a craft brew manufacturing facility – not a pub – that will offer tours, a tasting rooms and an outdoor patio. The hope is to feature between eight and 12 craft beers on tap. Those beers will be marketed in BC and Alberta. Butow says the long-range plan is for an on-site distillery, as well.
Downtown Prince George President, Eoin Foley, says the brewery is another ‘good news’ story for the downtown core. “We have the best restaurants and cafes located downtown, a new pub (that will be) another location to serve this great beer opening up just around the corner, a new housing project announced this past fall for downtown. It’s truly an exciting time for downtown.”
The George Street site was originally home to former Mayor Gord Bryant’s DeSoto car dealership. Current Mayor Lyn Hall says Butow and Leiski are showing the kind of commitment to the downtown that the former mayor did 69-years ago.
“I just think it’s such an opportunity for two hometown guys to really set an example throughout the entire community of what can happen,” says Hall. “And for them to commit to Prince George, but also to downtown, is huge for us as a council.”
The pair will spend the next several months meeting with City Hall, working through the Liquor Control and Licensing process, and renovating the building, with an eye to opening by mid- to late fall.
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