Grapevine Craft Brewery breaks ground on downtown business

After receiving approval from the City Council, Grapevine Craft Brewery broke ground on a downtown brewery featuring outdoor seating to be built one block off Main Street.

Construction is underway with a planned opening in the spring, owner Gary Humble said at a groundbreaking ceremony on Nov. 12.

The new business, in the 900 block of Jean Street, will consist of an 11,000-square-foot brewery, including a two-story taproom and an additional 2,800 square feet of outdoor space for a beer garden. The business will be open daily.

At the groundbreaking, Humble recognized owners Andre Motty, Mike Noack, Glen Harrod and Tim Van Ackeren.

“There have been many reasons to quit and shrink back,” Humble said of their plans from idea to fruition. “But these men have stood with me with a commitment to see this through.”

Humble also lauded what he called “our community owners.”

“More than 200 people gave over $61,000 online back in 2013 to help us fulfill our mission of having a brewery in Grapevine, Texas,” Humble said. “And today, we begin making that dream a reality.”

Several years ago, Humble tapped into the home brew craze and made some for friends and family.

He did it for fun, but friends convinced him to do it for profit.

And the seed of the idea to tap into the successful area wine and beer market for Grapevine Craft Brewery was born.

“I started this journey over two years ago with just an idea and bit of passion,” Humble told the crowd at the groundbreaking.

He began a startup business in Farmers Branch, with plans to eventually move to Grapevine.

“This brewery belongs in downtown Grapevine,” Humble said. “And it’s going to happen.”

Humble said the property to the north, adjacent to the land the business already owned, came up for sale with an existing 6,000-square-foot building and frontage on Dallas Road.

“We were able to acquire that property and expand our project from under 7,000 square feet to over 10,000 square feet,” Humble said.

He said they also were able to more than double the available parking which was critical to the accessibility of the taproom and beer garden space.

“We can’t thank our neighbors and the surrounding community enough for their generosity and support of our brewery, yes ‘our’ community’s brewery,” Humble said. “We are proud to call Grapevine home and can’t wait to share our beers and all of the great things we have planned for the future with our fans and our friends in our new home.”

Humble’s journey began with his move to Texas about six years ago. He and his wife, Andrea, settled in Grapevine and immediately fell in love with it.

He recalled how he and his wife had tried for years to start a family. Their move to Grapevine was followed by the October 2011 birth of their son, Grant. Evan was born in March 2013.

“I said, ‘This is where we’re going to raise a family,’ ” Humble said.

He quickly became enamored of his new hobby: home brewing.

He considered himself an entrepreneur and found a way to meld his hobby and his hopes to provide a better life for his growing family.

The city was a great choice for a business, he said, “because Grapevine has a big push to be a destination community.”

“We’re not just brewing beer,” he said. “We’re giving people another reason to come to Grapevine.”

Grapevine Craft Brewery is distributed throughout North Texas and the Austin metro area in more than 1,200 locations in just under a year of distribution, Humble said at the groundbreaking.

“A great deal of this is due to our relationships with Ben E. Keith Beverages and the Brown Distribution Co.,” he said.

Humble said that within the first year, their brand is already receiving recognition,

“Sir William’s English Brown Ale took home best of show out of 88 beers in competition at the Best Little Brewfest in Texas in Lewisville,” he said. “Then, in October, we took home a gold medal for English-Style Brown Ale at The Great American Beer Festival in Denver.”

Humble was proud that his Denver win was a coup for Grapevine.

“We really hope to become a hometown staple in the community and will work hard to bring a great deal of value to downtown Grapevine,” Humble told the crowd. “Thank you for your support. Cheers!”

This story was originally published November 25, 2014 at 10:55 AM with the headline "Grapevine Craft Brewery breaks ground on downtown business."