Craft distillery proposed for site adjacent to biergarten
Asbury Park Distilling would manufacture gin and whiskey
Downtown Asbury Park could be the home of the state’s first gin and whiskey distillery since prohibition.
Asbury Park Distilling, LLC. submitted plans Friday to open a 4,000 square foot craft distillery at 527 Lake Ave., on the corner of Lake Avenue and Press Plaza. The distillery would be located within the same building as the soon-to-be-opened Asbury Festhalle and Biergarten, according to the plans. A wall with a glass partition could allow patrons of both businesses to see through to the other side.
The distillery requires an amendment to the central business district [CBD] redevelopment plan, which prohibits light manufacturing within the CBD, according to Donald Sammet, the city’s redevelopment and planning director.
Similar to the craft beer boom, a market for artisan distillers who produce locally crafted spirits with locally sourced raw materials is on the rise, the plans state. Under the New Jersey craft distillery law, enacted in 2013, craft distillers whose raw materials are New Jersey-sourced and account for at least 51 percent of the total raw materials used in the distilling process can label their product “New Jersey distilled.”
“What is unique about it is the craft concept that fits into the creative nature of Asbury Park,” said Andrew Karas, an attorney and one of the project partners. “It fits in in what has become a statewide recognized restaurant scene.”
Besides the wholesale manufacture and distribution of the product, retail customers will be able to sample and purchase products on premises in conjunction with a tour of the facility, the plans state.
In a city that has again become a destination, the addition of a craft distillery presents a symbiotic relationship that can occur between area businesses, Sammet said. The distillery will draw its own set of visitors, who may come to take a tour of the facility and sample New Jersey distilled spirits and then take advantage of the city’s shops and restaurants. Conversely, restaurant-goers who have a cocktail made with one of spirits from the distillery are afforded the opportunity to purchase the liquor on-site in the city where it’s made, he said.
“It distinguishes the marketplace,” said Sammet.
James Waters, former lead brewer at Lambertville-based River Horse Brewing Company, will be Asbury Park Distilling’s lead distiller, Karas said.
The city’s planning board must also approve the project. It is also subject to state and federal approval processes, said Karas.
If approved, the craft distillery would be the first gin and whiskey distillery to open in New Jersey under the craft distillery law enacted in December of 2013, as well as the first gin and whiskey distillery to open in the state since prohibition, according to the plans.
[Photo at top: The corner of Lake Avenue and Press Plaza. Asbury Park Distilling, LLC. would be located in the corner of the building. The Asbury Festhalle and Biergarten is located in the space where the windows begin and will utilize the rooftop area of the distillery.]
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