City council is supporting Beach Fire Brewing in its bid to secure a lounge endorsement from the province in order to get the craft brewery up and running.
At its Monday night meeting, council approved a Brewery Lounge Endorsement, saying a craft brewery with a lounge and patio area is welcomed in Campbell River.
The brewery is intended to be a gathering place for all ages, and will be paired with a restaurant specializing in tapas.
Chris Osborne, the city’s senior planner, said while Beach Fire Brewing’s application for a Brewery Licence did not require city council’s input, the additional request for a lounge endorsement – which will allow the brewery to serve its product on the premises – did. Osborne said the city was also required to carry out public consultation as it saw fit. He said that a public hearing held last January in relation to rezoning the property, satisfied that requirement.
“Speakers were universally in favour of the use being permitted at this location,” said Osborne, adding that the city has also received two endorsements from other business owners.
Those letters came from neighbouring businesses on 11th Avenue where Beach Fire Brewing is preparing to set up shop.
Lori Gooldrup, owner of Divas Ladies Fashions, wrote in a letter of support that the brewery “will be a great addition to the street” while Dan Samson wrote, “it is an asset to the neighbourhood and community.”
Beach Fire Brewing is applying to the province for a licence that will allow the business to serve liquor seven days a week in an interior lounge that can accommodate up to 90 people, as well as an outdoor patio that can seat 20 people adjacent to the sidewalk on 11th Avenue.
Matthew Fox, one of three co-founders of Beach Fire Brewing, told city council last December that the brewery will be a ‘third place’ – a concept historically applied to places such as post offices, barber shops and taverns, places where people congregate other than work or home.
Fox said he and his business partners hope the brewery will help gentrify the neighbourhood and help the city bring more activity and traffic into the downtown core.