This weekend, Seven Stills owners Tim Obert and Clint Potter hosted a final party at their original Bayview brewery and distillery, which is officially closed as of October 7.
The pair are now gearing up for the grand opening of their new headquarters in Mission Bay, which will likely occur later this month. (Seven Stills' two beer-only taprooms, in the Mission and the Outer Sunset, will also remain open.)
Closing the Bayview distillery, where Seven Stills got its start in 2016, wasn't always the plan, Obert told Hoodline. But it quickly became clear that it wasn't going to be able to support the company's rapid growth.
Under Seven Stills' type 74 craft distiller liquor license, the company is only permitted to sell 1.5 ounces of liquor to each customer per day, unless it offers a full restaurant with food. But the Bayview space was just too small to accommodate a proper kitchen, Obert said.
Even without food, the space didn't have room for the company's new 750-gallon still, which it needs to meet the demand for its line of whiskies distilled from craft beer.
“We thought we could work it out," Obert said, but it ultimately wasn't meant to be.
The new Mission Bay location (100 Hooper St.) is "our second shot at building a bonafide facility, and this time we did it right," Obert said. "This space is cooler than I expected.”
Obert described the new location as a “mixed production and retail space," with enough capacity for 300 people. It'll have a full restaurant, a bar with flat-screen TVs, an outdoor beer garden, a retail shop and a mezzanine for events. And because it serves food, the company will be able to sell liquor by the glass or in cocktails for the first time.
The new facility will also boast a rickhouse for barrel-aging the whiskeys, which the company will also use as a space to host in-depth educational experiences and tastings.
The restaurant at the new Seven Stills will focus on food that pairs will with the company's whiskeys and beers.
“We’ll serve things like salted or fatty meat planks, cheeses [and] beans," Obert said. “We’ll also use our stout beer to braise racks of ribs, and whiskey for mussels.”
Though Seven Stills is leaving Bayview behind, Obert assured Hoodline this will not be the end of their presence in the neighborhood. They plan to continue their roving monthly Bayview neighborhood cleanups, rewarding people who volunteer to pick up trash with a party featuring free food and beer.
“Bayview is where it all started," Obert said. “We love this community and will continue to support it.”
