Light the Lamp Brewery hopes to open new location to public Sept. 1
Light the Lamp Brewery's move to a historic building near its current taproom - once anticipated to be completed in the spring - now has a late-summer target date.
Brett Kryska, Grayslake's assistant village manager, said the brewery's owners told him they hope to open the new location Sept. 1.
Representatives from Light The Lamp did not return calls for comment.
The brewery, which has operated a tap room at 10 N. Lake St. since 2012, plans to open a restaurant down the block at the 102-year-old building at 2 S. Lake St., known as the Cupola Building.
In November 2017, the village board approved a $150,000 economic grant for the project. The grant is expected to cover around 10 percent of the cost to renovate the old building.
"The village is very pleased to have building renovated," Kryska said. "Especially for a longtime Grayslake business to expand into it."
Under the terms of the plan, the brewery can claim the grant after its move, provided it generates the equivalent of 25 full-time jobs.
There has been activity at the new location for months. The company has been brewing beer there since moving equipment in April, according to a post on its Facebook page.
On Wednesday, workers were on the south side of the building redoing the parking lot, Kryska said.
The building was vacant for years before the brewery began discussions to move there. The owner cleaned out the building and added new exterior brick to its back and side. The aging skylight was also removed and replaced with new wood.
In June, the brewery hung a new sign on the front of the building.
It will be the latest in a long line of tenants. The building was erected in 1916 for an automobile dealership and repair shop. According to "Grayslake: A Historical Portrait," published by the village's historical society, the Brandstetter family owned the building's first business.
Auto businesses occupied the structure for roughly its first 50 years, followed by ventures such as a hair salon, a gymnastics center, a hardware store and a flea market.