When the new Central City Brewers & Distillers opens its doors to the public this fall, it’s going to turn heads.
The new facility on Bridgeview Drive in Surrey includes a $35 million state-of-the-art building put up by the Surrey City Development Corp. (SCDC). Inside is $12 million worth of Central City Brewers’ equipment.
“When you take tours of the Napa Valley and you take tours of all these wonderful wineries – we set up our retail store with that in mind,” said company president and founder Darryll Frost.
Frost opened the doors of the original brewpub on 102nd Avenue in Surrey December 26, 2003. Central City has been brewing and serving its beer there ever since. Recently the company began brewing in its new facility, although it has not yet opened officially. Frost said the expansion to a 68,000-square-foot building, which is Phase 1 on its five-acre site, is a significant jump.
“We’ve been maxed out for years at our current site. We kept adding tanks, and when you do the math on it, it doesn’t make sense to expand in that way: just jump and go to a facility just like we built.”
Frost added that he and his team did extensive research, including in the U.S. market, looking at successful craft breweries.
“We took everything they did right and learned from everything they did wrong.”
In order to get complete SCDC buy-in, Frost arranged to take Surrey mayor Dianne Watts on a tour. Central City and SCDC subsequently entered into a mutually beneficial partnership. The city made use of city land that it will profit from and that will increase its tax base. Central City got a partner that is interested in far more than the bottom line, a partner that also cares about attracting people to the brewpub and brewery.
Frost said the city got an “incredible deal.” Central City Brewery has won Canadian Brewery of the Year twice and came second this year. The building is also an amenity for the city that will attract people into Surrey.
“It’s a very special site,” Frost said. “It holds up to anything I’ve seen in the U.S. market.”
Frost said the company could have gone to the private sector for partnership and financing, but it would not have achieved the same results.
“We have lots of developers around with land that could build a building, but we won’t get the same bang for our buck the way we have achieved it in a joint venture with the city.”
Frost estimated that brewery staff will expand to 110 employees next year from the current 60.
The business will move over to the new site this month. Meanwhile, the old facility will likely be turned into a teaching operation. Frost noted that 500 craft breweries are opening in Canada this year and that the industry has become an economic driver.
“We’ll never see yellow fizzy beer again,” he said.
Bill Michael, director of purchasing at the BC Liquor Distribution Branch (BCLDB), said that craft beers currently have 10% of the market share.
However, they are gaining ground every day. So far this year, eight new craft beer breweries have opened in B.C. He said people today are more adventurous in what they drink. Years ago, they tended to stick to one brand for years. Today, they try more new brands and are more willing to switch.
Michael added that he expects craft breweries to continue to proliferate.
“There are a lot of advantages to craft beer: there’s that neighbourhood feel and the regional feel. I want to drink beer from my region or even my neighbourhood. Also, the fact that they’re owned by people who actually live in the province, I think that’s to their advantage.” •
