Construction is well underway for the Red Barn Brewing Company in Blenheim and the owners are thanking the community for the support.
The soon-to-be brewery is a family affair, owned by Denny Vervaet along with his wife Sandy and brother-in-law Daniel English. It will be located in the field next to the trio’s family farm on Lagoon Road. Recently they launched a fundraiser to help assist with building and startup costs that also gives those donating some unique incentives.
The #BuildTheBarn campaign was created by the owners as a way to show thanks to people who help out with the project. Different dollar amount packages come with a variety of incentives including an invitation to an exclusive grand opening party, merchandise and a professional family portrait. For each package sold, Red Barn Brewing Company will put $50 in their #BuildTheBarn Fund, which will be donated to local projects, activities, charities and events. According to Vervaet, it's a way to get help from the community while also offering something in return.
"We wanted to involve them. People have been offering, asking how they can help out," he explained. "We came up with something that would benefit us and then for them, there'd be some great rewards and perks."
Since the family officially got their site planned approved for the brewery in January, Vervaet said they've received more support from the community than they ever imagined possible.
"We really didn't expect that," he said. "Since then, we've had people from all over Ontario emailing. We've had people thinking we're open and stopping into our house. It's kind of fun to see the interest from everyone that's supporting in the background."
Ground broke on the site at the beginning of May and according to Vervaet, construction is going as planned. Trusses began to be put up on Monday and he expects that near the end of August they will be bringing a crane in to begin putting the roof on, something he said will be a large feat.
"It's quite the large roof but we wanted, when people walk in, want you to feel that you're welcome and you're in our family barn," he said
On the same day as the groundbreaking ceremony, the family was able to hit well water, something necessary to run the business since the property doesn't have access to the municipal water source. Vervaet said up to this point, there's been a lot of behind the scenes milestones.
"Some people say to us daily that there's nothing going on but there's a lot of background, boring stuff you don't want to hear about," Vervaet explained. "So that is still going on piece by piece. It's a big project, there's a lot of stuff that is happening that may not be visible until you see that roof go up."
Vervaet added that so far they are still on track for a spring opening.
"At this point, we're still aiming for a May 2020 [opening.] If anything, we're hoping that we can be in some restaurants and local establishments later this year, maybe pushing into January," he said.
To learn more about Red Barn Crewing Company's journey and the #BuildTheBarn campaign, click here.