Brewpub at 7th and Colorado to expand into building on opposite side of 7th

In a view across Colorado Avenue, Cerberus Brewing Company is the gray building with red trim at left, at the northwest corner of Colorado and Seventh Street. At right, on the other side of Seventh, is the building with the lighthouse design that has housed the Colorado Springs Bike Shop for 45 years. The plan is for that business to close, with Cerberus remodeling the building so as to have a second Cerberus operation on the northeast corner.
Westside Pioneer photo

Brewpub at 7th and Colorado to expand into building on opposite side of 7th

An edited parcel map shows the current Cerberus at 702 W. Colorado Ave., and the planned, additional site at 622 W. Colorado. North is up. Residences are in the small rectangle just left of 702, on the east side of McKinley; and on McKinley's west side, between the alley and Pikes Peak Avenue.

Courtesy of El Paso County Assessor's Office; Westside Pioneer edits to insert addresses and street names

Dec. 30, 2018
       Cerberus Brewing Company, which pledged to attract bicyclists when it opened in 2016, is looking for more space.
       Coincidentally, the chosen locale, on the opposite side of Seventh Street from the tavern/eatery's current spot at Seventh and Colorado, is a long-time bicycle shop.
       According to Cerberus' application to Colorado Springs Planning, the store will be remodeled for a “tasting room (bar), banquet hall, office and storage space, with capacity for a 2,929-square-foot brewery.”
       The effect will be the Cerberus restaurant and bar still operating in its current, 4,373-square-foot space at 702 W. Colorado Ave., while the uses described above will be occurring in the 10,227-square-foot space at 622 W. Colorado (which currently houses the Colorado Springs Bike Shop).
       Matt Fitzsimmons, the city planner assigned to review the Cerberus application, said in an interview that he expects to reach a final decision in January. No neighborhood meetings are scheduled, and the application will not have to go to the Planning Commission or City Council, he noted, as it did for 702 in 2015.
       Two issues raised when Cerberus went through the city review process at that time were the building's proximity to a residential neighborhood and a limited amount of on-site parking. Claiming that relief was needed to redevelop an older commercial building that had been sitting vacant, Cerberus owner Jerry Morris won city support on both counts. Similar shortfalls exist with the new building.
       - Proximity. City law prohibits bars less than 200 feet from homes. For the existing Cerberus, the city agreed to reduce the setback to zero (as residences are along its western lot line). From the bicycle building, the nearest house is 128 feet away, Fitzsimmons said.
       Morris considered a different option in 2017 - constructing a building with a brewery where McKinley and Seventh meet at the rear tip of the existing pub's triangle-shaped property. But this would have put the brewery across the street

Jerry Morris, principal owner for Cerberus Brewing Company, is shown at the City Council public hearing in September 2015, discussing the brewpub's application for 702 W. Colorado Ave. The new Cerberus proposal would add the building at 622 W. Colorado (on the other side of Seventh Street) to the business.

Westside Pioneer file photo from Springs TV

from residences. After hosting an informal meeting at which some of the neighbors raised concerns, Morris abandoned the idea.
       - Parking. Cerberus contends that no additional parking spaces have to be provided, despite its analysis showing that the new operation would justify 26. The reason is the bike shop's parking variance, which does not require any spaces on-site. Cerberus will inherit that and, as a result, "does not have to supply any additional parking spaces,” Fitzsimmons wrote in a project review document.
       If other off-street spaces are desired, Morris could talk to the nearby Pikes Peak Area Council of Governments about using its parking lot, Fitzsimmons said in the interview. However, the planner added that he is not requiring Morris to do so.
       The bike shop, which started in 1973, is owned by Ed and Bonnie Johnson, who are friends of Morris', Fitzsimmons said.
       The Johnsons' business has gained some architectural notoriety over the years, with a lighthouse design on its roof.
       Their shop remains open while the Cerberus application is being processed. (Note: The Pioneer made attempts to reach the Johnsons in mid-December, but was still unsuccessful in that effort at the time of this article.)

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