Ice Harbor sets closing date for its flagship location. When will the new brewery open?
Ice Harbor Brewery is getting ready to say goodbye to their longtime flagship location. The popular brewery is ready to make their long awaited move to a new, larger facility just a few blocks away.
Supply chain issues had an impact on their move, delaying their shift in operations to the 10 E. Bruneau Ave. location, above the Public Market at Columbia River Warehouse, in the old Welch’s Juice Plant.
Ice Harbor announced on social media Monday their last day at the 206 N. Benton St. location will be Feb. 25.
Co-Owner Mike Hall told the Herald that they hope to have the new location open by St. Patrick’s Day. But customers can still enjoy their Ice Harbor at the Marina location on Clover Island and find their beer in grocery stores. They’ve even made sure their distributor has extra cases on hand.
Hall said they will have to limit to-go kegs a bit during the transition.
Their beer can currently be found regionally, east of the Cascades. Their distribution range stretches from Yakima in the west to Pullman and Spokane in the east, and bars and retailers in between.
New digs
After more than a year of planning and hard work though, Hall said he is excited for the move.
“It’s pretty nostalgic, we’ve been here for almost 20 years. There’s a lot of history here,” he said. “A lot of fond memories, but we’ve got a lot of memories to make.”
The new location is significantly larger and will allow Ice Harbor to eventually expand their brewing operations. The new building opened in 1952 as a Welch’s juice plant, and was most recently occupied by J. Lieb Foods.
At 14,000 square feet, the new location is double the size of the Benton Street brewery. They’ll be able to seat twice as many customers inside and the kitchen is three times larger.
In addition to room for 120 customers inside, they also have ample outdoor room they plan to take advantage of when summer weather hits.
“It’s going to be different, but we’re still looking for the same feel and vibe, a place where people can come and gather and have a beer and be comfortable,” Hall said. “An everyone knows your name kind of thing.”
“We have a really nice kitchen now, and we’ll be able to do some better things with the food. Our food is already pretty good, but it will give us a lot more options.”
The entrance to the new brewery is on the Washington Street side of Bruneau Avenue. The entrance to the Public Market is on the opposite end near North Beech Street.
Co-owners Hall and Bill Jaquish were workers at the Hanford site when they began brewing in 1997. After seeing the demand for their beers, they opened the downtown pub in 2004.
The brewery has been named the Tri-Cities’ favorite by Herald readers nine years in a row, and they want to offer customers a new experience in 2022.
