Planning Underway For A Second Farmer Brewery In North Adams
A local brewer is planning to open the city's second farmer brewery in the former Eagles Hall on Curran Highway.
Jonathan Spinney, in his application to the Planning Board, said the 10-barrel Rising Glass Brewery would have a tap room and entertainment space along with commissary kitchen.
He wrote.
"We plan to self-distribute and apply for a pouring license to be able to serve beer by the glass," "A canning line will be installed in the brewery to facilitate reaching the larger craft beer audience."
Rising Glass would apply for a farmer-brewery license that would allow it to produce and serve beer onsite and to retail establishments with a focus on using local ingredients.
Bright Ideas Brewing, which opened a couple years ago, operates on the same kind of license.
A lot of work will have to go into the building, The Eagles Aerie 310 Hall closed last year as the club sought to downsize and the building's size and cost to operate became a problem. The property was put on the market.
Plans are to remove and rebuild the entire front wall and relocate the main entrance to the south side, The roof and wall are in poor condition and need to be rebuilt to raise the height of the ceiling to fit the brewing equipment. Steel and glass will be used in the reconstruction.
The bathrooms and hall will remain but the kitchen is being redesigned to accommodate up to three small food-based businesses, including baked goods, and have one be the in-house food-provider.
The hall will continue to be available for weddings and other events.
The down-sized hall would have a U-shaped bar and table setups and the stage would be moved to the north side where the straight bar is currently located. The club bar would become flex space and a beer garden would be on the southwest corner and kitchen garden and employee parking on the northwest side.