The City Council unanimously voted Wednesday to allow Dark City Brewing Co. to use Main Street as an entrance to its planned 3,000 square-foot business.
While the city’s first microbrewery, considered a light industrial use, is permitted within the city’s Main Street Redevelopment zone, a Main Street access needed city council and Planning Board approval.
Now that approvals have been granted, owner and head brewer Kevin Sharpe said they will look to begin construction within the next few weeks.
The business, named as a nod to the city’s nickname after the post-riot days of the 1970s, will be located on Main Street at the corner of Second Avenue next to Asbury Park Roastery.
Plans include constructing a 1,500 square-foot tasting room with 10 to 15-tables. Patrons will be offered tours of the facility and tastings from Thursday through Sunday.
The microbrewery will feature year round crafts as well as seasonal blends. They will offer an Asbury Roastery blend and create a unique craft blend for the cross town Bond Street Bar and Grill.
“We’re looking to create a lot of eccentric and unique beers that you can’t find anywhere else,” Sharpe said. “We want to stay true to the creative aspects of the Asbury Park community.”
The facility will be constructed with environmentally awareness, he said.
The steam from spats located along the top of their kettles will be trapped and repurposed inside the building, thereby allowing for reuse of the water and keeping all odors inside the building.
Sharpe, a Freehold Township native, said he got his start in the craft beer world as a hobby.
“I was unemployed for a while after college and took up home brewing,” he said. “I would make beer for family and friends to enjoy but after a couple months I started to get obsessed.”
It was at that time that he began to expand his knowledge and equipment.
“Five years later, here we are,” Sharpe said.
Sharpe said he and his three partners, all Jersey-shore residents, plan on an October opening.
“We’re really excited,” he said. “We’re getting closer to the finish line.”
To follow Dark City news and updates, visit their Facebook and Twitter pages.
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