Tasting rooms and events featuring local wineries and craft breweries have proved popular downtown. Now cities are finding distilleries are equally suited to the city center.
The February issue of Downtown Idea Exchange newsletter highlights three distilleries that are contributing to historic preservation and attracting visitors and locals alike.
In one example, the St. Augustine (FL) Distillery is housed on the first floor of what was, in 1907, Florida’s first power and ice complex. The building, which contributes to the Lincolnville Neighborhood’s listing on the National Register of Historic Places, was the first to make commercial block ice in Florida over 100 years ago.
Now, thanks to the unique 28-member business collaborative that purchased and renovated the ice plant, the building houses barrels of the state’s first bourbon whiskey, along with vodka, gin, and rum. The unique partnership includes different owners for the upstairs space, and for the gift shop area downstairs, which is leased to the distillery.
Free tours of an ice plant museum within the distillery, as well as the production and bottling areas and a tasting room, make the facility a popular destination. The farm-to-table Ice Plant restaurant on the second floor is also a draw.
Using locally sourced products is important throughout the building. Early in the planning process, the business collaborative’s members met with local farmers to learn what they could grow that could be utilized in the production of spirits, and to forge partnerships that support the quality and sustainability goals of the distillery as well as the economic sustainability of local farms.
More on distilleries making their mark in city centers appears in the February issue of Downtown Idea Exchange newsletter. Click to learn more about Downtown Idea Exchange and other resources for revitalizing downtowns and commercial corridors.