Nano brewery proposed for downtown Arlington Heights
What started as Arlington Heights resident Eric Lamkins’ home-brewing hobby is poised to become a full-fledged business in the village’s downtown.
But Lamkins’ Spent Grain Brewing truly will be the definition of a small business.
His beer-making operation certainly won’t be on the scale of a Budweiser or Miller, or even the more common microbreweries that have popped up across the city and suburbs.
Inside the recently-closed Bangkok Cafe at 17 N. Vail Ave., will be a nano brewery, where the bearded brewer will craft small batches of his favorite suds.
That’s no more than a single 30-gallon barrel at a time, and it all can be done within the confines of the 2,500-square-foot former restaurant space, he says.
Lamkins presented initial plans to the village’s conceptual plan review committee Wednesday night, where he assuaged any potential neighborhood concerns for odors created through the brewing process.
“The entire system fits inside the kitchen and is ventless,” he said. “I’ve been brewing for 25 years. We actually love the smell of brewing. But we recognize not everybody likes it.”
Most people might recognize a microbrewery from the “big silver towers” filled with beer, Lamkins said, but at the Arlington Heights nano brewery, the fermenting tanks and kegs will be kept in the basement.
The mood and ambience of the place might be different from what you might expect, too.
Swap out heavy metal for Sinatra and standards on the soundtrack, Lamkins said.
“We’re looking to create kind of a different environment,” he said. “We’re not looking to be — if any of you have visited a microbrewery, you know the usual experience is concrete floor, stainless steel and unfinished lumber everywhere. And you’d hear something like Metallica or Rob Zombie as loud as possible. We’re not looking to do that. We’re going for more of a relaxed, lounge environment.”
The preliminary floor plan shows 14 stools at the bar, 24 chairs at dining tables, and 24 seats on leather couches and other chairs.
There will be food and drink available, per Arlington Heights’ requirement for liquor license holders with on-site consumption.
The beer menu includes 16 taps — possibly including root beer, ginger beer and seltzer — brewed on-site, a selection of wine, and small pours of whiskey, but no mixed drinks. Lamkins and his staff of up to 16 employees don’t plan to do any packaging or canning of their product, but they may make take-home glass growlers available for purchase.
The Spent Grain name inspires the light food menu of appetizers, soups, salads and sandwiches the brewery plans to serve. Each menu item will utilize the so-called “spent” grains typically discarded after the brewing process in things like bread and granola, Lamkins said.
Lamkins, head of the Stone Soup 3 Creative marketing and graphic design firm in Arlington Heights, inked a five-year lease with a five-year renewal option for the business space, which is around the block from wife Heather Henkel’s Kilwins confectionery store.
She plans to open another franchise location of the sweet shop this fall in Park Ridge, around the same time Lamkins hopes to open the brewery. That would be at the conclusion of the annual Arlington Alfresco outdoor street-dining season.
“We’ve been working on this project for a couple years,” Lamkins said. “I really wanted to be in the Alfresco space because I know the area. That’s why we’re really excited to have this happen.”
He plans to submit formal plans to village hall by the end of this week or next, which would be reviewed by the whole plan commission and village board. The brew pub will need a special use permit and liquor license to operate.
Hours would be 3 to 10 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, noon to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and noon to 8 p.m. Sunday.