DARRINGTON — Two Stillaguamish Valley breweries are ending their first year of business by moving to new locations in Darrington and Arlington. Both plan to expand by summer.
Whiskey Ridge Brewing is leaving Darrington, and the founders of River Time Brewing plan to move into the same space downtown. The building at 650 Emens Ave. once was Darrington’s town hall.
The owners of Whiskey Ridge hope a new location in Arlington will let them stay open all year, something that didn’t pencil out in Darrington. At River Time, the team is angling for a long-term foothold in the small, scenic town.
Darrington is great in the summer, said Francine Hatley, who owns Whiskey Ridge with her husband, Jack. The town seemed a perfect fit. They made friends quickly and the community rallied to help them repurpose the old town hall. People gave time and supplies. Even the mayor chipped in.
The Hatleys delayed opening Whiskey Ridge after the deadly Oso mudslide last year. Finishing touches on plumbing and lighting in the old building had to wait.
Nearby, River Time already had licenses and space ready, said Lon Tierney, who owns the brewery with friend Troy Bullock. The business officially started in July 2013, and the friends opened a beer garden along the Sauk River last summer.
“It was a really fantastic first year for us and really just solidified that Darrington is the place we should be,” Tierney said. “We absolutely fell in love with the town and all the people.”
River Time closed for the season in November, but Tierney and Bullock hope to reopen in May with two Darrington locations: the beer garden on the Sauk and the old town hall. They’re getting ready to crank out batches of Irish Gold and their brown IPA, Tierney’s favorite.
Whiskey Ridge opened in May 2014 and was off to a good start that lasted through the fall, Francine Hatley said. Their dark beers — oatmeal stouts and chocolate porters — were a hit.
Then came the winter lull. Business slowed from 50 people a day to eight people in a weekend.
“That wasn’t working,” she said. “It wasn’t even covering my gas.”
The Hatleys, who live in Marysville, started putting out feelers for a new space closer to home and closer to customers. Whiskey Ridge closed the second week of December, seven months after opening. By February, they’d landed in the former home of Down Home Brew Supply in Arlington, a squat brown building near the corner of East 5th Street and N. Olympic Avenue.
Francine Hatley is working with nearby restaurants to get menus for food delivery at Whiskey Ridge so she and her husband can focus on creating a place where people dine, drink and hang out. They’ve painted the interior in shades of cream and chocolate brown, and they’ll be installing kettles, tanks, pumps and refrigerators soon. They’re waiting on some plumbing work and final inspections before they set an opening date, aiming for March.
The Hatleys hope people will try the local beers at breweries in the Stillaguamish Valley. She loved Darrington and met good, helpful people there, but needed more winter customers, she said.
Lack of winter business is a problem River Time also has to contend with, Tierney said. Rather than finding a new location, they plan to add more kettles and tanks, brew more beer and distribute it to other vendors in the colder, slower months.
Brewing isn’t about competition, Francine Hatley said. Microbreweries root for each other’s success.
“We just want people to try craft beers,” she said.
Kari Bray: 425-339-3439; kbray@heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
