Proposal would allow small breweries to open in East Dundee

East Dundee is considering an ordinance change that would allow for a new kind of business in town.

A proposal is on the table for granting brew pubs - microbreweries or nanobreweries - permission to set up shop in the village's downtown community and service business districts.

Authorized businesses would be allowed to brew up to 155,000 gallons of beer per year, which they could then sell on site or distribute to bars and restaurants, Village President Lael Miller said.

Because building and maintaining a commercial kitchen could be financially restrictive, he added, the proposed ordinance change would not require a brewery to serve food at its establishment, Miller said.

Breweries are not currently allowed in East Dundee, said Village Attorney Kathleen Field Orr.

"This (could be) strictly a bar that would produce its own beer. ... It's a common use now across the Midwest," she said. "Every town is interested in attracting breweries."

Miller said village officials have been in discussions with potential business owners looking to open a brew pub in downtown East Dundee.

"Specifically, we have a nanobrewery in our pocket," he said. "It's a startup, obviously. They're not Anheuser-Busch. They're not Goose Island. They're a small, family business."

In addition to selling its product, the brewery owners would likely sell to patrons within their own establishment. Customers could then bring in food or have it delivered from other restaurants, Miller said - a concept similar to Scorched Earth Brewing in Algonquin.

"Their thought is being in a downtown environment ... is going to be much more attractive than moving out to a corporate center," Miller said.

Because plans for the potential nanobrewery are still in discussion stages, details are not yet available, said Economic Development Director Doug Bergren.

The ordinance could be revisited if a startup brewery wants to expand and brew more than the 155,000-gallon limit, Field Orr said. However, any production beyond that would call for a larger manufacturing facility, she said.

"That's the potential they all want and pray for," Field Orr said. The proposal as is, she said, would give new small breweries a starting point.

The proposal will appear before the planning and zoning commission at 7 p.m. Dec. 10.