When I first heard about the changes down at the old Olympia brewery in Tumwater, I got excited. Then it occurred to me that there really wasn’t much of a story to tell. As of a couple weeks ago, the deed restriction forbidding the production of alcohol on the premises has been lifted, so someone now could move in there and start producing alcoholic beverages again, but I still think it is unlikely another brewery will move into the existing buildings.
The brewery (as I understand it) is much like the old Rainier Brewery on Airport Way in that it is far too big for any craft brewery and too small, old and inefficient for what the big beer companies would want. I may be imagining that, and I’m not an expert in the economics of big beer, but Miller closed that brewery down ten years ago for a reason. I’d expect Miller-Coors and Anheuser-Busch to be tight-lipped about any potential plans, so who knows. I really just can’t imagine it. The buildings, and I assume the brewing facilities within them, would be ancient by today’s standards.
In my perfect world, I’d love to see someone come in and renovated the space, turning it into brewery-friendly units of a reasonable scale. I imagine them dividing the space up into small units, creating turnkey opportunities for young and growing breweries. Brewers could move into a space that already had things like floor drains, walk-in coolers, and proper water and electric service. It could be a brewery incubator, where burgeoning breweries could easily get their start before moving on to bigger and better things. You could even make it friendly for wineries and distilleries.
If you are a real estate developer, I just gave you a million dollar idea for free. You’re welcome.
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