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Craft brewery proposed in industrial area of Buffalo Grove

Buffalo Grove could see a new craft brewer in an industrial area along Busch Parkway.

On Monday, trustees referred to the planning and zoning commission for review a proposal for the Prairie Krafts Brewing Company at 1310 Busch Parkway. The brewery would be leasing space in the building at 1300-1398 Busch Parkway. The commission will recommend whether to allow a special use in the industrial district.

The petitioner, Raj Chauhan, said the space would offer a tasting room along with retail sales.

“We propose to distribute as well as sell on site,” he said.

The brewery itself would occupy 3,338 square feet, while the retail area would occupy approximately 600 square feet. A zoning variation would be needed to allow the sales area, which would occupy nearly 18 percent of the business floor area, in excess of the 5 percent allowed for an accessory retail use.

Chauhan told trustees Monday that the company would have a brewing capacity of 15 barrels per day.

His partner, Maneesh Khosla, said this would be the first microbrewery in Buffalo Grove. He said the community is attractive because of its diversity as well as its convenient proximity to a train station and major highways.

He said the location at Busch Parkway would offer a clean environment, an open floor plan and a high ceiling. He said it is close to residents in both Cook and Lake Counties and would have easy access for distribution.

In addition, he said it is surrounded by corporate offices and is likely to see growth over the next decade.

Trustee Jeffrey Berman said, “I think it is an outstandingly interesting proposal. I have absolutely no concern about the use generally or the use being located in an industrial district.”

However, he told the partners there would probably be a couple of issues to address before the planning and zoning commission, one of them being the fact that the brewery would be operating next to a medical office, the other being parking, which, he said, is always an issue but “particularly where you're trying to put a somewhat unusual use in an industrial area.”

Trustee Steven Trilling said his office is in a 25,000-square-foot building in Itasca, in which one of the three tenants is a microbrewery.

“We are in an industrial district. The industrial district, I think, is fine for this particular type of use.” However, he said that at the Itasca location, “Parking can be, at times, a little difficult.”

In response to a question from Trustee Andrew Stein, Chauhan said customers will “pay for tasting and we will be serving in four-ounce glasses.” If the beer is to their liking, they can buy up to a pint of it.

Village Manager Dane Bragg said the village would have to amend its code to create a new class of liquor license. That, he said, has already been researched and a draft is available.

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