Houston Cider Company At 1125 W. Cavalcade St.

[CrockpotandGravel]

This thread was originally created March 26, 2019. I'm reposting / reupping this because this post and other content from me are no longer available on the forum.  An archive link to this thread is here.

1125 West Cavalcade  in Houston, the Heights


From a Loopnet listing in 2010:

https://www.loopnet.com/Listing/16747292/1125-W-Cavalcade-Houston-TX/

Lot Size     10,000 SF 








Today, the site of Town in City Brewing, now Houston Cider Co.


From Houston Chronicle





 

[CrockpotandGravel]

This was originally posted March 26, 2019 in the previous thread for 1125 W Cavalcade. It's being reposted / reupped since the original thread and other content from me were removed. An archive link to the original thread is here.

 

From Houston Chronicle today:

 

Town In City Brewing put its brewery and tap room in the Heights up for sale as the locally-owned brewery prepares to move to a larger facility to accommodate growth in its cider business.
 

“We listed the property today,” co-owner Justin Engle said Tuesday. “We’re not able to disclose exactly where we’re moving to. We just know it is going to be somewhere in the city.”
 

Since opening in August 2015, area residents and out-of-town visitors have enjoyed the outdoor patio and small tap room, which hosts trivia night, open mic night and pop-up kitchens from various chefs. The brewery is looking to move to a warehouse-type space of close to 10,000 square feet, Engle said, and at least initially, it will not be open to the public.

 

The 3,749-square-foot building, which sits on a 10,000-square-foot lot at 1125 West Cavalcade near North Main Street, is being offered for sale with or without the brewing equipment, according to NAI Partners, the commercial real estate firm hired to market the property. The asking price, without the brewing equipment, is $1 million.

 

The brewery’s 2,000-square-feet of warehouse space houses four 30-barrel tanks and, by the end of the week, two new 120-barrel tanks purchased for its Houston Cider Co. operations. The cider tanks, which make cider from apples, are about 10-feet wide and 19-feet tall.
 

“We have more of these tanks coming in,” Engle said. “It’s getting pretty jam-packed pretty fast.”

 

The brewery will continue operating in the Heights until it relocates. The time frame for the move was not disclosed. The new location will be focused more on production than creating a neighborhood gathering area, and will likely open to the public on weekends only in the future.
 

“We’re probably not going to be open to the public for a couple of months as we just focus on production,” Engle said.
 

Houston Cider products are sold in stores such as H-E-B, Whole Foods, Kroger and Spec’s as well as in bars and restaurants. Town In City Brewing’s beer is sold in restaurants, but is not packaged for sale, Engle said. Sales figures were not disclosed, but the cider side, which launched in 2017, is driving the growth.

The departure of Town In City would leave the Heights with a lone craft brewery, Eureka Heights at 941 W. 18th.

 

Nick Terry and Joe Bright of NAI Partners are marketing the property on behalf of the seller with assistance from Larry Koestler. The property could remain as a brewery or another use such as office, industrial or retail.
 

“The opportunity to purchase a turnkey brewery in and of itself is pretty unique, not to mention being located in one of Houston’s hottest neighborhoods that also happens to be home to very few others in the industry — technically there’s only one other brewery in The Heights between 610 and I-10,” Nick Terry said in an announcement. “Town In City’s space would be an ideal satellite location for one of our city’s further-flung craft beer producers, and also perfect for a brewery-in-planning.”
 

Koestler, who brought listing to NAI Partners, said there was room for growth in a market that’s already home to more than 50 craft breweries.
 

“The growth of Houston’s beer market has been meteoric these past few years—the number of breweries in Houston has more than quadrupled in only five years — and yet there’s still a case to be made that our city is wildly underserved when it comes to beer production,” he said. “It would be great to see an existing brewery make use of this space as a second location — hard to ask for a better location than The Heights — or another newcomer join Houston’s craft brewing ranks.”


https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/real-estate/article/Town-In-City-Brewing-puts-Heights-brewery-up-for-13717928.php


 

[CrockpotandGravel]

This was originally posted May 7, 2019 in the previous thread for 1125 W Cavalcade. It's being reposted / reupped since the original thread and other content from me were removed. An archive link to the original thread is here.

 

The warehouse at 1125 West Cavalcade, 1125 W Cavalcade in Houston will stay in tact. 

Distiller Fox & Seeker is moving to the property.
https://www.foxandseeker.com/

Town In City Brewing was there previously.

Fox & Seeker originally was moving to Sawyer Yards, 2500 Summer St, Suite 1130. Construction began on the space.

More in the forum about Fox & Seeker's plans for Sawyer Yards here.




From Eater Houston:

Fox & Seeker, a new “grain-to-glass” distillery crafting vodka, gin, and bourbon, will soon open its doors in Houston.
 

The new distillery is set to open its doors at 1125 West Cavalcade this summer, bringing a new batch of locally distilled spirits to Space City. The brainchild of Andrew Thompson and Sean Anger, Fox & Seeker will also be home to a cocktail bar and tasting room that will allow drinkers to consume its wares on site. In the meantime, Fox & Seeker is set to begin bottling its London dry gin, vodka, and a flower-infused “spring gin” in the coming months.
 

“We will begin with clear spirits such as vodka and gin while we worked to build an portfolio of aged products, such as bourbon,” Anger tells Eater. “We will also come out with varietals of gin that can play to any palate. Up until Andrew and I started this project, I was not a fan of gin — I thought it tasted like a pine tree. I’ve learned that gins can be made many different ways. It’s an extremely versatile spirit that we plan to line up with different seasons and taste preferences.”
 

Fox & Seeker’s founders also boast that it will create each of its spirits from the raw materials instead of sourcing semi-finished products from other producers. “It’s not uncommon in the spirits industry for distilleries to procure already-fermented and distilled spirits, then repackage them under their own label for sale,” Anger says. “A grain-to-glass operation is not easy, but will bring a unique product lineup to Houston that is 100% made by Houstonians.”
 

Fox & Seeker is currently set to debut in July. 


https://houston.eater.com/2019/5/7/18535521/fox-and-seeker-distillery-houston-first-ward-opening


 

[CrockpotandGravel]

This was originally posted May 8, 2019 in the previous thread for 1125 W Cavalcade. It's being reposted / reupped since the original thread and other content from me were removed. An archive link to the original thread is here.

 

More on distiller Fox & Seeker's move to 1125 W Cavalcade the site of Town In City Brewing's brewery. 

Fox & Seeker originally announced a location in Sawyer Yards, 2500 Summer St, Suite 1130. Construction began on the space. (More in the forum about Fox & Seeker's former plans for Sawyer Yards here.)

Fox & Seeker hired the services of Cuatro to find a new location and help with the build. Cuatro is a real estate developer based in California. The developer documented the search and negotiations on Instagram dating back to early April:



New opportunities alert! As a developer the hunt is always on. I’ll be flying out to check this out next week and will be sharing more. We’re hopeful this becomes home to a new distillery!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BvxAc_KjvQ-/




Here in H-town checking out potential buildings for the @fox_and_seeker distillery! We’re on the hunt!





Yale Automotives, 2510 Yale was another property of interest for the distiller.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BwDg-N0DkM_/




In mid-April:

Our LOI was submitted and we’re on to the second round of offers for this property. The hunt continues but we’re one step closer
/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BwSX0qNjTSt/





In late April, with a photo of Town in City Brewing's tasting room posted:


We’re waiting on the counter offer from the seller. Time is a key component to these deals. 
https://www.instagram.com/p/BwfJp1qDVRQ/




And last week, a post announcing negotiations on the space:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bw8KZjNj_Wp/



 

[CrockpotandGravel]

This was originally posted May 20, 2019 in the previous thread for 1125 W Cavalcade. It's being reposted / reupped since the original thread and other content from me were removed. An archive link to the original thread is here.

Town In City Brewing's brewery at 1125 W Cavalcade in Houston is back on the market.

Distiller Fox & Seeker was reportedly moving here from Summer St in Sawyer Yards. But the seller withdrew the property from the market.

It looks like they're looking to purchase the warehouse at 1212 E 28th St in the Heights.



From their real estate broker last week:

The location we wanted to get in Houston fell apart. As always the mission continues. We have the tenant in tow and have our eyes on another, even more amazing location. This game isn’t always easy but the bounce backs are where the stories are earned! Let’s goooooooo! 

https://www.instagram.com/p/BxiJqU7nThI/


 

[CrockpotandGravel]

This was originally posted May 20, 2019 in the previous thread for 1125 W Cavalcade. It's being reposted / reupped since the original thread and other content from me were removed. An archive link to the original thread is here.

 

Distiller Fox & Seeker was ready to sign on the dotted line and move to 1125 W Cavalcade but the site fell through.

The property is the site of Town In City Brewing's brewery.

Fox & Seeker posted a note on all of this on their website. The distillery was under construction on Summer St in Sawyer Yards. There was a problem with their TABC permit and the search for another building was on. They found the perfect location but the seller withdrew the property from the market.


Here's the story from Fox & Seeker's website:
 

In the Fall of ‘18, we signed our lease at 2500 Summer Street (our 1st Ward location). We developed our architectural drawings, set our interior design, gained City approval for construction/buildout, and applied for all permits to become Houston’s next distillery. Unfortunately, the Texas Alcohol and Beverage Commission (TABC) declined our permit for the Summer Street location. As some of you may know, Texas has a very strict tiered system for the manufacture, distribution and sale of spirits. Sadly, it turned out that a minor ownership interests of the leasing entity proved an insurmountable obstacle. Kindly, our landlord helped us minimize our financial exposure while we look for alternate locations.
 

To help make life easier for future Texas breweries, wineries and distilleries, we are actively engaged with various Texas State Representatives to keep this issue on the table for the next legislative session. We believe that there are some sensible modifications to the law that could preserve the intent and integrity of the three tiered system while allowing for certain obvious exceptions.
 

Many may have noticed the article in Houston’s Eater about our ‘new’ location in the Heights. Indeed, we were in the middle of negotiation for this location. We ended up at the signing table but ultimately the seller decided to withdraw the property from the market. We were quite devastated to have gotten so far and still come up short.
 

No one ever said starting a new business was easy. We’re committed to bring grain-to-glass spirits to Houston regardless of the (seemingly) endless obstacles that get put in front of a startup distillery and are keen to stay in the Greater Heights area. We believe that this area will welcome our product. We’ve kicked off a new round of our property search and we’re working daily with our Developer to find the perfect spot for us to bring a truly unique establishment to Houston.
 

We’ll be a bit quiet until we get the paperwork signed as to not tempt fate again. We hope to update you shortly with a new address and sincerely appreciate your patience as we navigate this process!


More here:  https://www.foxandseeker.com/journal/a-new-shell/