Local architect and award-winning brewmaster Kevin Shertz announced on Facebook this week that he has decided to pull the plug on his plans to create a micro-brewery in Chestertown. Here is his statement:
“Sad news, everyone: I received a message earlier today from the organization I was talking with for a possible space in Chestertown has reversed their prior position entirely; they are suddenly no longer interested in me being in their location and are opposing the zoning change I had previously outlined.
This was a rather sudden development, but I’m not going to over-think how this came about.
As a result, I’m pulling the plug on this effort altogether: the numbers simply don’t work for other situations within Chestertown, or Kent County, and this business will not succeed or justify its up-front investment costs. There is no go-to-market strategy that I see working.
No one is more disappointed than me, I assure you. But, there’s no point in doing this without the support of local government, a feasible property situation, AND the support of the community. Rarely does one hear the phrase, “One out of three ain’t bad.”
Edward E Maxcy says
This, added to the Hogan’s Agency signs on some four or five properties on High Street, would suggest to me the communities lack of concern
for keeping (let alone adding) businesses and, thus, helping to improve the local economy. I guess it takes too much, at least for some people, to
bend a little, perhaps to get a little less than they want, in order to help others. I am disappointed for tourism in our community almost as much
as I am for Mr. Shertz. Does anyone care?
Stu Cawley says
I care, Ed, & not just cuz I like Kevin. I also like good beer & would love to have a good brewpub downtown. There has yet to be an adequate replacement for Andy’s IMO, & it strikes me that there are precious few businesses downtown that make any effort to attract college students. And while I wholeheartedly support our town & county’s efforts to be selective about growth & to safeguard what’s special here, I would also very much like to see local leaders, whether political or business, doing what they can to work w/ & assist young people trying to establish unique & quality businesses in town rather than being obstructionist. The hurdles Tim O’Brien had to jump thru to get his coffee — grown on his own Costa Rican farm & roasted himself on his own equipment — into the C-town Farmers’ Mkt seem to be another example of the town’s lack of vision. I don’t want to live in a town that’s nothing but retirees & antique shops. And I want to be able to walk home after a couple pints of excellent ale in a convivial setting.
lynda says
very disappointed. was really looking forward to this project for the town. what a boom for the night life. is the vacant stores in town the new look for chestertown?
Jay Falstad says
This is indeed very disappointing news. Eastern Shore Brewing Company (in St. Michaels) is booming, relying on both local and tourist dollars to keep the business growing. I was hoping Chestertown and KCo could have made this work. I was looking forward to hoisting a growler of Chester River Brew.
jenifer Emley says
Right. I think we need to know exactly what the truth is here and why this didn’t work. Such a bummer.
Kevin Shertz says
Jenifer, here’s the timeline for all of this (this is an abbreviated version to the people who have already been following CRBC on Facebook)
1. Was discussing with a Light Industrial landlord regarding rental of a space: site visits, me working on layout drawings of the space for feasibility, etc. Thought I had a viable business model that was worth giving a try.
2. Approached Town to make sure this was OK before negotiating a final lease with the landlord.
3. Town shot down the use of Light Industrial for a microbrewery on the grounds that it considered the microbrewery’s tap room a retail use.
4. Prepared a text amendment request that would add microbrewery to the list of approved uses of a Light Industrial space and submitted it to the Town (Easton’s zoning, for example, allows microbreweries in their Light Industrial zones without any limitations.)
5. Received notice from the landlord that the space was no longer available for consideration.
Boom, back to square one.
I do not see a viable go-to-market strategy in Commercial zones in the foreseeable future for myself, so, I’m cutting my losses and walking away from this. What people don’t realize is I have looked at a variety of commercial spaces over the past 7 months in Chestertown, Rock Hall, and even considering “setting up shop” on some local farms. Light Industrial was the best location to maximize potential and minimize risk.
I’ve run the numbers, spent several days attending a “Start Your Own Brewery” at Siebel Institute in Chicago this past May, and am headed back at the end of this month for several weeks of formal brewing classes at the same school. I’m very confident in my knowledge of the industry and how such a speculative venture may work in Chestertown.
I am not happy about it, but am very comfortable with my decision. You reap what you sow.
jenifer says
Ah … much clearer now, Kevin. Thank you for explaining. I’m just so sorry. Bummer for you and for all of us.
Carry on! xo, jenifer
Erin Kusmider says
This is hugely disappointing news on so many levels. I feel so frustrated, not only for Kevin, but for myself and this town. Is it too extreme to say this town is dying a slow and painful death? Granted I am a baby as far as generational residency goes but in the short time (7 years) that I’ve been a Kent Countian, I’ve noticed a gradual trend towards building vacancies downtown but also in other parts of the county. There are so many wonderful reasons to live here but the inability of many of the powers-that-be to be open-minded and CHANGE is definitely NOT one of them. It’s getting to the point that I’m truly considering moving somewhere else (I know my house is for sale but we were planning to remain relatively local), if only someone wanted to buy my house and move here…Gee, a brewery might have helped there, or at least gotten the ball rolling for some other small business ventures to consider Chestertown. Then maybe someone would want to move here because the town’s not hanging by an enterprising thread. If you build it, they will come, right?
Paul Bjorke says
No Surprise really as you are in Kent County and my guess is you an’t from there or your ancestors either. Besides the eastern shore has always been about 50 years behind the times.
Steve Atkinson says
Everyday I keep hearing terrible news, and this is one of the most disappointing. Kevin and others have worked hard to get to this point and to be blown out of the water like this is very discouraging.
Karen Smith says
Perhaps the new “look” for Chestertown is “Ghost Town.” We’re partway there!
Michael Hildebrand says
I don’t know why anyone is surprised as to the brewery being stopped before it even got started. I mean come on, look at the type of leadership Chestertown and the county has. First, they bought a marina that, as long as you don’t factor in costs of operation(i.e. repairs, upkeep, normal maintenance, etc.), it operates in the black, but barely. Great business model there isn’t it. I guess when it is tax money “floating” the bills, cost doesn’t matter. Second, they spent money on a memorial park which was a great and thoughtful idea, but why would you build it in an area that will flood and ruin it the first big storm that comes up the bay? Guess what? More tax dollars will be needed to repair it. Third, you have a Mayor that takes time out of her day to act like a bully with a twelve year old girl for simply playing music in the park!
But the lack of real leadership doesn’t end at the town limits. We have commissioners that like to spend money the county doesn’t have like wildfire. They build a community center that was under funded, over budget, and not well thought out. Now that it is build, the county is trying to figure out how to get people there to use it! Their idea………..come up with tax money to pay for bus trips to and from the center! Now they are kicking around the idea about closing it down or scaling back its hours of operation and possibly closing the pools. Nice way to spend money, huh. Then there is the county recycling project that had to be dis-continued because the people in charge couldn’t make it work. If it didn’t work then why can Queen Anne’s County come here and do it and make money at it? Lack of real leadership is why.
I have lived here my entire life. Kent County is a wonderful place and I really wouldn’t want to live any where else. It does boggle my mind as to why we live in such a wonderful place with good people but can’t seem to find an intelligent group of leaders who could sit down and come up with a real sustainable plan for economic growth and prosperity. We run our young, local people out of town but cater to the out of town kids. We complain that there isn’t any local businesses but do everything we can to stop any new ones from opening. We complain that the locals don’t support the businesses that are here but price everything to the point the locals have to go else where to afford it, let alone find it. We have stores closing, a town that is selling itself to a college, and a community of people that are hurting and the one thing that is on the minds of the leaders is getting more trees planted along the road leading out of town! This community needs a reality check before there is no community left.
Oh, and one more point. Why not name the “organization” that did the about face on you Kevin. I mean come on, it this organization feels it doesn’t want to support local people and the local economy, then we as a community should know who they are so we can return the favor.
Mary Carlisle says
This is disappointing news. I thought Kevin’s idea was great and the brewery would have been an asset to the town.
Bennett Price says
Man what the hell?! Everyone I talked with about a micro brew in town was totally ampt to see this project come to fruition. What a bummer!
Kevin Shertz says
All, I realize this decision is very disappointing to people (me most of all), but there’s a point at which you assess a plan’s feasibility and decide accordingly on how to move forward.
No municipality (or Kent County itself) mentions “microbrewery” in their Zoning Ordinance text as a permitted use. Each jurisdiction makes an interpretation as to the appropriateness of any zone and any given location. Someone who’s interested in doing something not explicitly spelled out in a Zoning Ordinance needs to consider if the interpretation provided still makes financial sense for their business to occur.
Microbreweries are one of the most highly regulated industries in the country, and require a Federal license, State License, and County Liquor license, as well as the usual business licenses in order to open. It’s not at all uncommon for this permitting process to take 6-12 months before a microbrewery can be open for business. The applicant is also required to be in their leased/purchased location prior to even starting the permitting process. At the State level, microbreweries and brewpubs are separate classes of license, and so the terms are not interchangeable.
I have communicated to the Town of Chestertown in the past week that I felt that both Industrial and Commercial zones are appropriate areas for a microbrewery; the process of beer brewing is well-suited for both of these zones. Even though microbreweries do have a commercial/retail component via the presence of a tasting room, it is a manufacturing process, and that component of the business could significantly expand if a business were to become highly successful.
If I could offer one piece of advice as a result of the many things I’ve learned during this process:
Were text amendments that specifically say “microbrewery” to be formally adopted by Zoning Ordinances in their respective locations, it would help future prospective business owners make decisions on what is an appropriate home for their efforts. It would also complete the massive campaign undertaken at the State level this year to make a microbrewery a permitted use in Kent County.
Thanks to everyone for your support and kind words.
kurt Kolaja says
So Kevin; do I understand this correctly? Because the word “microbrewery” is not on a page somewhere such a business can not happen? It must follow that one could not build iPhones, a research lab for the Mars Discovery mission, or digital cameras. Anything not conceived of when the rule book was written (it appears) must be shunned. Bakery, buggy whips, and buttons fine; but brewery no. It must have been a bitch to get electricity approved.
If plans for Chester River Brewing fell apart because of governmental timidity the action is nothing short of embarrassing. Perhaps the Morality Police thumped their way before the Fathers to convince them of the evils about to be unleashed. Either way Kevin, go build coffins, the area is going to need them.
Kevin Shertz says
Kurt, all I’m saying is that since all of our local/county zoning ordinances do not specify the permitted use status for a microbrewery, it’s appropriateness for any given place is at the complete discretion of each planning department.
For example, in Easton, they have already worked through this issue, and have “microbrewery” as a permitted use in their Industrial zones and as a special exception (i.e.on case-by-case basis) in their General Commercial zone. You can see this for yourself on page 2-7 of this PDF of the Easton Zoning Ordinance: https://www.town-eastonmd.com/PlanningZoning/Zoning_Ordinance/Zoning_Ordinance_Article_2.pdf
Justine Hendricks says
Sam Calagione had to lobby to get Delaware state laws changed in order to open the Dogfish Head Brewpub in Rehoboth. Calagione’s push to change regulations in the state opened the way for other craft brewers, including Iron Hill, Evolution, and 16 Mile (owned by two Washington College alumni). The original DFH restaurant/brewpub is still in the same location it was when it opened in 1995 (in a location where there was high turnover because businesses there weren’t typically successful) and Dogfish Head is now one of the fastest-growing craft breweries in the nation.
Keith Thompson says
So all of those legislative efforts to amend state law to allow for microbreweries in Kent County went all for naught because local government officials dropped the ball. Hmm…if I’m a Maryland legislator, I’m not too inclined to do any future favors for Kent County or Chestertown.
Zach Milash says
compare Chestertown zoning to Easton zoning. You will see why Chestertown is on a decline.
eliott bruce says
As a broker put a start up micro in major industrial park charged $1 sq ft rent 3 years plus % of sales every one may out great.Think need a new lawyer and broker, this should not have been a big deal. If it was me I would have called it a “brew pub”served great wings, burgers,big screen t.v. .Buy Village Bakery from bank use 504 sba loan .Cant miss. If need help just ask.
Mike Hunt says
We need older leadership with even less vision and more government regulation so every little business opportunity can be strangled before it even leaves the crib. Who is the boss of this town again?
D. LaMotte says
Maybe this is simplistic, but if someone wants to open a local business such as this….the process should be quick and easy! Come on, local leaders,
Get with the program!
Paul Hanley says
Fron what I read above, this is a landlord issue?? …not a government issue solely?? To quote from first post above: “the organization I was talking with for a possible space in Chestertown has reversed their prior position entirely; they are suddenly no longer interested in me being in their location”.
I also did not read where any government agency actually turned down a request for any re-zoning. Did I miss something specific?
What I read from the limited info is that this was a financial decision–ie the cost of construction/refitting a manufacturing plant and, other start-up costs did not add up. To quote from above; ” but there’s a point at which you assess a plan’s feasibility and decide accordingly on how to move forward.”
Sometimes projects can be delayed but, I hope that another space can be found and this worthwhile idea is revived. Don’t give up the fight!!
Kevin Shertz says
Paul, see my comments on the third conversation thread (Jay Falstad’s) for a chronology.
Paul Hanley says
Thanks for the clarification, Kevin. Don’t know how I missed that. I still stand by my last sentance–Don’t give up the fight! One location and one government decision shouldn’t derail the project. Perhaps a brew-pub instead of a micro-brewery might further the dream–right downtown in one of the many vacant spaces (most are for sale and might not need zoning changes think Brix/Andy’s). The town could sure use one!
Cheers,
Paul
Kevin Shertz says
Paul, I have zero interest in the restaurant business (which is what a brewpub is.) And, to be honest, Chestertown’s population can’t justify the cost of a brewpub and I predict it would in fact put several other restaurants out of business to be operating at a volume of business for it to be self-sustaining. To my eyes, our restaurant community is over-saturated as it is.
As I’ve said on Facebook, I do not see a viable go-to-market strategy in Commercial zones in the foreseeable future for myself, so, I’m cutting my losses and walking away from this. What people don’t realize is I have looked at a variety of commercial spaces over the past 7 months in Chestertown, Rock Hall, and even considered “setting up shop” on some local farms. This is not an overreaction by any means.
Light Industrial was the best location to maximize potential and minimize risk. The manufacturing process is the scalable portion of this business, and as you scale up, your need for loading docks, etc. only increases.
I’ve run the numbers, spent several days attending a “Start Your Own Brewery” course at the Siebel Institute (the oldest brewing school in the U.S.) in Chicago this past May, and am headed back there at the end of this month for several weeks of formal brewing classes. I’m very confident in my knowledge of the industry and how such a speculative venture may work in Chestertown, and am comfortable with my decision.
At this point, even if the Town were to add Light Industrial as a permitted use, I’ve lost my landlord.
Sorry this didn’t work out, all, but I feel a window of opportunity opened and closed. I can still brew beer at home, and maybe I’ll just focus those energies now on setting myself up with a deluxe home setup.
Tim O'Brien says
Kevin, this is all so depressing but we respect your decision. Wanted to know if the zoning change got accepted at the planning commission? KRM Development is a locally based company and has lots of spaces, they seem like good people, surley they have something to fit your biz model and can see this is being done in other cities. If the change was accepted or the town can find it possible to imagine this unimagined use of this zoned space and approve your business in the current zone, I am sure someone from Town Hall would be happy to contact KRM on behalf of a small business and request them to reconsider their decision to not offer you the space. I am sure lots of people would like to call them and request that. Why would they not want a new tennant? I am also considering them for industrial space for my coffee roastery but if they are concerened about odor then maybe i am out of luck too. Afraid to ask if coffee roasting and selling would even meet the zoning code as it too is not specifically mentioned either for light industrial but is common practice elsewhere. Having tasted your excellent yummy beer I know more than most how big a loss this is for the community.
Marc Dykeman says
Too bad about this,
I am still confused, however. It looks to me like an application was being made to reconsider the zoning when the landlord decided not to go for it. Was this a landlord decision, or a town decision?
joe diamond says
Just not possible!
A brewery of any kind needs a water source like a river or a deep well. Breweries need a source of grain. Really big brewers use train car loads of grain and ship train loads of product. The byproducts of a brewery are still usable as animal feed. Cows love it. You can make bread from it. The workforce doesn’t need advanced education. If they can get to the plant they can be trained.
The microbreweries that seem to work have a restaurant aspect and tourist walk-in clients on a seasonal basis so the batch sizes can be predicted.
None if this is possible here.
Joe
Glenn May says
As a former business owner in Kent county this is troubling to hear. Something in this county has never really added up for me. All you hear from residents is that there are no good shopping options or there is no this or that. Well the problem there is that when these places are around they just don’t get the support. The county leadership seems about 50 years behind in my estimation and lacking a real vision of what the world is like now. This county needs to grow to survive and there needs to be local businesses driving that growth.
Kevin I’m sorry to hear about your bureacratic hoop jumping. From what I’ve experienced is that there is no common sense in bureacracy. Until our county leaders forge some progressive economic growth plan for small businesses to prosper this will continue to happen. As happens with many small towns the economy has shifted to service oriented tourism, historical and otherwise. What better type of business to attract than a micro-brewery. This in my opinion would have been a real feather in the cap for this barely breathing town. I’ve considered opening up another restaurant in the area but like Kevin realize that the numbers just don’t add up to anything.
Carol Schroeder says
I have read every comment here. The only real power I have is my vote. If names and exact details are not given in discussions such as this, how can any of us vote out government leaders we don’t agree with and vote in new candidates with new ideas? General economic and zoning discussions are just that…general. Is there any more specific information that could help me the next time I’m at the polls or a community meeting? Thanks.