Construction on Shades Brewing’s new location is back on track after some delays, and the new brewery in Salt Lake City’s Ballpark neighborhood is slated to open in the fall, according to an Instagram post.
Shades plans to open a new combination brewery and distillery at a building called The Engine Block, at 1388 S. 300 West, across the street from Block Party 300, a food truck park at the site of the former Granato’s deli.
In September, Trent Fargher, Shades’ chief operating officer and chief financial officer, said Shades planned to open its new taproom/brewery and cocktail lounge on 300 West in December. But six months have gone by since then.
However, last week, Shades said on Instagram that “we’ve worked through the hold-ups on the move to 300 West” and that construction was resuming. General manager Alexandra Ortiz said Monday that construction had been delayed due to a “financial issue.”
Ortiz said everyone at Shades is “so excited” to move out of their location at 154 W. Utopia Ave. in South Salt Lake, a former meatpacking building that had been abandoned for four years when they set up shop there.
Technically, Shades’ lease in South Salt Lake is up, and the brewery is currently in a month-to-month lease at the old building, which is for sale.
Due to an apartment building being built nearby, Ortiz said Shades’ old location lost most of its patio, a set of restrooms, its front entrance and its parking. She also said the building doesn’t have any windows or air conditioning.
“We’re paying a lot of rent for something that is no longer really workable,” Ortiz said.
She said that Shades was happy to be moving to a location that’s only a five-minute drive from the old one, so they can continue to serve the community they’ve been a part of since 2015.
Shades’ location on Utopia Avenue will continue to operate as a taproom while their lease is active.
The new Shades location will be accessible by the newly constructed bike lanes along 300 West, with easy access to public transit. Over 100 free parking spots will be available for drivers, the Instagram post said. The new building will also feature a full kitchen, two patios and “lots of windows.”
Eventually, Shades plans to distill spirits on-site in addition to brewing beer, Ortiz said. Shades isn’t distilling spirits at its building in South Salt Lake, but it does have a collaboration going with Waterpocket Distillery, which distilled a Shades beer called Aphrodite into a “hopped whiskey” or a “beer schnapps” called Aphrodite’s Kiss, she said.
Once it gets a distilling license, Shades plans to continue creating “whiskey versions” of some of its beers, Ortiz said, as well as make canned cocktails.
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