Brewery, Taproom Planned For Arlington Heights

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL — Residents looking for a new place to grab a brew might soon be in luck. A long-anticipated plan to build a microbrewery at 19 Hickory Ave., which was first proposed by Arlington Heights Beer Co. in 2014, cleared a major hurdle last week when it was approved by the Arlington Heights Plan Commission. The final vote at a June 9 meeting was 6-1.

The property contains two buildings: a rear building that is a one-story structure of 1,144 square feet; and the front building is a two-story structure at around 2,836 square feet. The buildings are mostly vacant and used for miscellaneous storage, according to the agenda of the June 9 meeting. The rear building would house a brewery and the front building would include a taproom/bar on the first floor and additional overflow or event space located on the second floor.

The proposed hours for the brewery are noon to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday; noon to midnight Friday and Saturday; and noon to 10 p.m. Sunday.

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Of concern to the Plan Commission, as first reported by the Daily Herald, is the parking situation, or lack of, at the property. There is no formal off-street parking lot on the property. On-street parking is permitted on both sides of Hickory Avenue with no parking restrictions/hourly limits.

There are around 42 on-street parking spaces provided on the east side of Hickory Avenue (73 spaces total), according to meeting documents. On-street parking is also permitted on Douglas, which includes 61 spaces on the east side and 86 on the west side. Additionally, the Arlington Heights Park District has a public parking lot on the west side of Douglas that includes 56 parking spaces.

Kathleen Egan is the owner and president of Arlington Heights Beer Co. and she spoke at the meeting. She also owns Itasca Brewing Co.

"We're a small, independent, unique establishment," Egan said of the new business, as reported by the Daily Herald. "We're trying to create a welcoming family atmosphere."

Village staff waived a traffic and parking analysis, reduced on-site parking spaces from 60 to 0, among other suggestions in their recommendation of the project. Occupancy for the entire property shall not exceed 87 people. Arlington Heights Beer Co. has an agreement with the Park District for 26 parking spots in the recreation lot.

According to documents, the Arlington Heights Beer Co. plans on "providing a community-centric tap room that provides not only a stable menu of style selections, but also a rotating tap selection that provides some extremely creative beers which will delight the most discerning palate."

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