(Credit: Common Roots/Phinney Design, 2022)
(Credits: Courtesy Common Roots, 2022)
Common Roots, the popular South Glens Falls brewery that doubled in size after fire ripped through the original building three years ago, is expanding again.
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Owners Bert and Christian Weber are buying two homes just south of their Saratoga Avenue business and plan a 18,000-square-foot facility that will double their village footprint and allow them to host large banquets and gatherings of up to 200 people.
“We plan a restaurant space, outdoor dining space, a warehouse, which is really important, and a smaller brewery where we will do our sour and mixed fermented specialty brews,” Christian Weber told FoothillsBusinessDaily.com.
He said the estimated cost of the project is “$3 million-plus” and that it will increase their capacity from 8,000 barrels a year to 12,000 barrels a year.
Common Roots will receive $450,000 from the state in the latest round of Regional Economic Development Council grants just announced.
“This will give us a new option for the summer months,” he said. “June, July and August are very busy for us, and this will allow us to host much bigger events like wedding receptions and other events. We’ve already gotten inquiries for weddings. We could easily have events with 150 to 200 people. It will be the same wonderful experience.”
The red house on the other side of Marion Avenue that is set back from Saratoga Avenue will be torn down. The white house closer to the Saratoga Avenue will be remodeled by the Webers and possibly used to host visiting sales teams.
“We have some enormous new tanks coming in and the tanks will take up the remaining space in the current building,” he said. The tanks are being built by Fronhofer Design, the mechanical design firm in Cossayuna whose CEO is Christian’s wife, Melanie.
[Read more about how Christian and Melanie also bought the, possibly, oldest building in Glens Falls, here.]
Phinney Design Group in Saratoga, which designed the current Common Roots building, is also designing the new building. V&H Construction in Moreau, is back as general contractor. Berkshire Bank is financing the construction.
Bert Weber said they were looking at farms in southern Saratoga County as a possible new location when the owners of the property next door “serendipitously called us and asked if we might be interested in buying it.
“It’s the perfect spot for a warehouse in the back, and we needed more restaurant space, so we decided to keep everything here in South Glens Falls,” he said.
Bert and Christian asked that part of the purchase agreement guaranteed that the current tenants would be successfully relocated, which they said has been done.
They are paying $400,000, which Bert said “is worth it to us, but maybe not anyone else.”
Christian said they have had discussions with village officials and “there have been no red flags. We’re very excited.”
He said it’s a “win-win for everyone. It’s great for the village. Common Roots is now in 10 states and we have 14 distribution partners. A lot of people visit us, and sometimes they bring big teams. It will be nice to have the option of putting them up right here in the house we will renovate.”
Bert said the venture “isn’t scary. I have great confidence in our team which Christian leads. We learned a lot building this facility, and we feel like we know what we want.”
Christian pointed out that his father was a big part of starting the Common Roots Foundation, which gives back to numerous organizations through volunteer work and financial support.
“We are humbled by the people we work with,” Christian said. “It allows us to think big, not only to continue to grow the brand but the foundation as well.”