Brewpub overcomes one hurdle, but there’s nothing to toast with just yet
New underground drains, water filtration and electric wiring are just a few of the construction challenges the owners of Turning Point Beer are overcoming to open Bedford’s first brewpub.
Converting a Rent-A-Center in a half-century-old stip center into a fully functioning beer production facility with five fermenters takes time, said James Peery, one of the four partners in the brewpub, located at 1307 Brown Trail. The other partners are Josh Davis, Alex Knight and J.P. Goytia.
On Jan. 12, the owners received an alcohol permit from the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, but Perry said they don’t anticipate opening the 6,000-square-foot brewpub until early spring.
“We are trying to get open as soon as we can,” Peery said.
The total cost of the investment will be about $1 million.
The next big milestone will be to get the brewing equipment up and running. Then they’ll brew one full round of beer. By the time they do the second round, they hope to open to the public.
“We don’t want to stock up too much,” Peery said. “We want to serve this stuff fresh.”
When Turning Point does open, it will likely have about 10 beers for sale in the taproom — and possibly 14 down the road. And there won’t be any food on the menu — it’s all about the brews.
The owners all have experience working in breweries around North Texas and have ties to Bedford and Northeast Tarrant County.
Peery and Knight have been home brewing for years and they’ve built a fan base for their various pulp beers; the Cup of Excellence, a coffee stout; and the Berliner-weisse.
“Hopefully, we’ll have a couple new beers people haven’t tried,” Peery said.
Turning Point Beer anticipates making about 1,700 barrels of beer in the first year. The majority of that will be sold in the taproom.
“We wanted to be near where people live and have people come here,” Peery said. “There is a plan for limited distribution to a few places.”
Opening a brewpub in a strip center came with other challenges, too. The owners and parents from Classic Gymnastics, located next door to Turning Point Beer, showed up en masse to a Bedford City Council meeting to oppose the project last year.
James Neiling, senior pastor of Christ Family Fellowship Church, said he is worried about members of his congregation having to remove beer cans and bottles on Sunday mornings, adding that there is a nearby gas station and 7-Eleven where beer is sold.
Neiling said the church has been in the Stonegate Shopping Center for six years, and he want to expand to hold job fairs and other activities for the community.
The council ultimately approved the variance request, which was actually to allow the brewery next to the Christ Family Fellowship Church.
The owners of the brewpub say they want to be good neighbors and become a catalyst for growth in that part of Bedford.
Staff writer Liz Campbell contributed to this report.
This story was originally published January 22, 2018 at 11:42 AM with the headline "Brewpub overcomes one hurdle, but there’s nothing to toast with just yet."