Ryan Harper, who will own the brewery and distillery with Greg Snow, said they are scheduled to open in early 2023, and are working with Community Design Alliance. He said that team has “come up with many cool ideas for a one-of-a-kind Hamilton brewery.”
They plan to cut open the center of the main floor so patrons can sit around the brew system that extends up from the basement. They’re also talking with wood-fired pizza kitchen owners around the country to include the best of the best ideas for their wood-fired pizza kitchen.
But the brewery and distillery will also incorporate the history of the old substation built in 1935 “because you can’t replicate its history.”
“We want to encompass a historic electrical theme, i.e., (Thomas) Edison, (Nikola) Tesla, (George) Westinghouse, mixed with industrial engineering and beer alchemy,” Harper said.
The city initially planned to sell the building back in October. However, the project has expanded in scope since the city initially agreed to sell the property to owners Ryan Harper and Greg Snow to include a commercial kitchen, which included environmental remediation costs. Because those costs were greater than anticipated, the city agreed to lower the agreed-upon purchase price from $10,000 to $1.
The legislation is expected to be approved next week.
Greater Hamilton Chamber of Commerce President & CEO Dan Bates believes Amp House Brewing can be the “catalyst” that inspires redevelopment of the Maple Street area, not unlike what the city did with High and Main streets.
“You need a catalyst project that starts development and I think, if that’s successful, which I think it will be, then I think other people will be looking at things down that corridor,” Bates said.
If Amp House is successful, discussions on what could happen along that corridor, like a farmer’s market, “start to become reality.”
About the Author
