Owner: Brewpub seeks expansion to brew beer, not increase clientele

Owner: Brewpub seeks expansion to brew beer, not increase clientele

The Cerberus Brew House was a busy place in a photo taken this summer. Photo looks south. The triangular piece of land is out of view to the left. It is shown in the photo below.

Westside Pioneer file photo

Going into a neighborhood meeting Tuesday, Sept. 26, Jerry Morris wants it known that the proposed expansion for the Cerberus Brew House is not intended to grow its customer base.
       “We don't want to bring more people onto the property,” emphasized the co-owner of the brewpub at 702 W. Colorado Ave. “It's simply about making more beer.”
       Termed a "pre-application" meeting, the informal get-together will be at Cerberus from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Also scheduled to attend is the city planner assigned to the project, Matthew Fitzsimmons.
       The business intends to apply to the city for a major amendment and non-use variance to its development plan. This would allow construction of a building on a triangular piece at the north end of the 10,600-square-foot property.

This is the triangular piece on which a multi-story building would be constructed to expand the Cerberus Brew House's beer-brewing capabilities. The photo is from 2015, before the business opened, when the alley in the foreground (since vacated) bisected the property. Photo looks north. At the farther tip of the triangle, Seventh Street and McKinley Place intersect.

Westside Pioneer file photo

The structure would be used for Cerberus' "growing additional brewery operations and allow for up to two stories of residential use above," the city's project summary states, adding that it would include a "partial underground building to be constructed within the setback along McKinley Place."
       The property had formerly been listed as 9,250 square feet, but that was before the city previously agreed to vacate a public alley, which increased the overall size to 10,600 square feet.
       The triangular piece of the site is just north of the former alley. Seventh Street and McKinley Place intersect at its northern tip. The piece has been used of late to grow vegetables for the restaurant's meals, Morris said in a phone interview.
       He explained that since Cerberus opened in 2016, it has become a popular spot, and that especially goes for the beers that are brewed there.
       The proposed expansion would roughly double the brewing capability - allowing the business to sell more of its product as tap beers to other bars or even sell it in liquor stores, he said. Up to 20 beers are currently brewed at Cerberus, with two of the most popular being the Tiny Umbrella Party and Elysium IPAs, he said.
       When the original Cerberus development plan was approved in 2016, an easing of city requirements was needed for parking and distance from existing homes. Some neighbors had expressed concerns beforehand, but Morris said he has heard no complaints about the operation prior to the new proposal.

Westside Pioneer article
(Posted 9/19/17; Land: Development Issues)

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