Lake Zurich Brewing Company to open soon in Black Belt Brewery's old space
Black Belt Brewery in Lake Zurich opened in 2016 and closed in 2017, but soon the dormant space will be producing beer once again for a new company.
Orland Park businessman Eric Burnson bought the brewery, and said in four to six weeks he'll be ready to open under a new name, Lake Zurich Brewing Company.
Burnson said he'd been looking to get into craft beer and when he heard Black Belt had gone under and was looking to sell its equipment, he pursued it.
"It is a good thing for us they were not in business for long. The equipment is very new," Burnson said.
Burnson's head brewer Jake Edwards previously worked at One Trick Pony Brewery in Lansing. Burnson said the brewery will have five or six employees at the beginning, which means visitors to the tap room will be able to meet them.
"Our tap room is a little bit smaller, so when we're not brewing we can open up part of the brewery," Burnson said. "Maybe we'll have picnic tables in there and people can have their beer and enjoy the space."
Initial offerings will include an IPA, a pale ale, a cream ale and maybe a hoppy wheat ale, he said, with possible additions in the future.
The brewery is at 932 Donata Court in the industrial area on the northeast side of the village.
Kyle Kordell, assistant to the Lake Zurich village manager, said the village is looking forward to Lake Zurich Brewing Company becoming part of the growing local brewing and distillery scene.
"With Copper Fiddle, Consume, Roaring Table, Lake Zurich Brewing and a future Breezewald Park beer garden pavilion in the works, the village is continuing to offer an assortment of evening destinations for the Northwest suburbs," Kordell said. "The community has embraced these efforts to attract fun places to hang out after work."
When the plans for Black Belt Brewery were approved by the village in 2014 the only other local alcohol producer was Copper Fiddle Distillery.
The village board approved Lake Zurich Brewing Company's liquor license earlier this month. Burnson said he's just waiting for the state to sign off.