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So, you’d like to start a co-op? The government is here to help

Friday, Aug. 24, 2012 at 4:49 PM | Comments: 0

VIDEO STILL BY ADAM TAYLOR /KX96 Enlarge Image

I was happy to be interviewed for a web video by Adam Taylor of KX96. Media folk can be chummy while also being competitors, but it’s been great to see so many people be so supportive of this idea. I'll post the video when it goes live.

It’s now been just over two weeks since the city officially requested proposals for the vacant former fire hall downtown.

And, there’s less than a week before those proposals are due.

When I pitched the idea of a community co-op that would open a brewpub in the fire hall, quite frankly I didn’t expect it to go anywhere. But I was taken aback by the huge level of support in Brandon for this idea. People are coming out of the woodwork to shake my hand, offer me ideas (and investment) and ensure that I push through with a proposal.

So yes, I’ll be putting in a proposal before the end of the month.

Looking at the 22-day lead time that the city allowed, I had a feeling that it would be a three-week sprint to get something together and submitted.

But now, more than two-thirds of the way through the process, I’m realizing this will be much more a marathon than a sprint.

Oh sure, it’s been lots of work — and fast — to get to the point where I’m polishing up a proposal. What a learning curve!

But each thing I do uncovers three or four more things I’ll have to do.

Obviously, it’s no secret that opening a restaurant is a massive undertaking. But opening one in the former fire hall comes with unique challenges. Kitchen and bathroom facilities will have to be dramatically expanded, with proper HVAC. And while restaurants with an industrial look are all the rage these days, an actual industrial space still requires a substantial amount of cleaning and refurbishment before you can serve food in it.

So, a restaurant would be challenge enough. We’re also trying to install and open a brewery. In an adjacent space. At the same time.

Setting aside the finances (our research shows the numbers may be a little daunting, but they’re definitely achievable) the thing that’s really making me blanch is the logistics of it all.

Luckily, I’ve had several recent meetings that reassure me greatly.

One of the best was at the Provincial Building. In the basement there, in a room where I once stood in a very long line to write the test for my learner’s permit, I had a very informative meeting with Dena Hunter.

Hunter, whose office has a ’70s-orange chair that I just adore (and I may have once sat on, waiting for the results of that oh-so-important test) is a business development specialist with Manitoba Housing and Community Development. Her area of focus is co-operatives, and she knows whereof she speaks.

I was pleased to leave her office with an armload of paper — and a full notebook — detailing the many other brewery co-ops that she had researched for me, as well as links to the many provincial programs that are geared specifically towards supporting startups, supporting co-ops and supporting community projects like this one.

Sure, I was vaguely aware of some of them. And I had specific knowledge of some of the bigger, better-known ones. But I was impressed with the sheer breadth and variety of support programs that existed. I anticipate making extinsive use of Hunter’s expertise in the coming months, if the city accepts the brewpub proposal.

Also this past week, I’ve spoken to people with direct experience in the brewpub industry. Universally, they’re pleased that the law has changed to allow facilities like this in Manitoba. They’ve been successful in other places, and they’re likely to be successful here.

Now, if you’re sick of reading about my brewpub idea, I also spoke with radio host Adam Taylor, from KX96, about the idea. He filmed our conversation, and is working on a video, which should be posted on the station’s website soon.

As always, you can follow @Brewtinerie on Twitter, or "Like" the Brewtinerie page on Facebook for the latest updates.

Brewtinerie, if you haven’t been following along, is our name for the concept of a brewpub combined with a poutine restaurant.

We’ve also got a fresh website with lots more information at brewtinerie.ca.

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