Stegmaier Bottling Building – Micro?

In case you missed it yesterday, Governor Rendell was in the WB to drop off some cash. Now how does this relate to beer you ask? Well it probably doesn’t, but we can hope and perhaps dream. Part of the governor’s cash was $4-million to go to the development of the Stegmaier Bottling building on Wilkes-Barre Blvd. From what I understand this $4-million is part of a $20-million Wilkes-Barre City/Greenspace joint project to convert the former Stegmaier Bottling plant. And what are we converting it to. Well as much as I’d like to say a Micro-brewery, sadly I cannot. So far it looks like commercial (i.e. office) space, and residential space (how cool would it be to live in a former brewery). According to the plan, this includes 47 apartments, an art gallery, fitness room, parking areas, retail space and a “restaurant.” So did you catch that little glimmer of hope I put in quotation marks. Hopefully we’ll see someone make the obvious connection between a restaurant in a former brewery complex and say…hey, what a crazy idea….maybe a brewery themed restaurant…and while we’re really crazy….maybe a brewery restaurant should have…hmmm…Beer!….and maybe a brewery (where they brew beer) should perhaps (fasten your seat belts) …brew their own beer.

On a serious note, we’re a long way off. I understand they still have to clear Lincoln St behind the bottling building…but lets start now. Stegmaier Bottling works needs to have a micro-brewery in it. Hello Lion, Troegs, Weyerbacher, Victory, Stoudts, SlyFox, General Lafayette, One Guy, Bavarian Barbarian, Bullfrog, Selinsgrove and any other micro that may be listening. We are a BIG market for beer and this seems to be the golden opportunity to put a micro in WB where it should be…..home again in the Stegmaier Brewery complex.

So who’s in?