USA, OR: Buffalo Rock Brewing Company gets approval to open in Oregon City
Oregon City Council on June 19 unanimously approved a Special Use Exception (SUE) permit for Waterville-based Buffalo Rock Brewing Company to expand its operations and open at the former Oregon Fire Station at the corner of Seaman and Wynn roads.
It would be the first brewing company to open in the city.
The Oregon Planning Commission on May 9 recommended to council that it approve a Special Use Permit at the Seaman Road site.
Troy Burns and his brother Tim, owners of Buffalo Rock Brewing Company in Waterville, were at the planning commission meeting in May and the council meeting on June 19.
The brew pub will manufacture beer on site and have a pub to serve it, according to James Gilmore, commissioner of Building and Zoning. There will also be food trucks, which require a special use permit because they are not allowed in the same spot day after day, according to the city’s zoning code. Future plans also call for an Air BNB that would allow for short term stays by the public.
Troy emphasized that the brewery will not be a bar, but a tap room.
“If you’ve been to our facility in Waterville at all, we’re not a bar. I consider it more as a social type club. People don’t come and sit there to get drunk,” said Troy. “They come to enjoy craft beer. What we encourage is communication between people. We want people to come and socialize.”
Troy said they have had several Oregon residents visit their location in Waterville who were pleased to hear of plans to expand the brewery into Oregon.
“We are a very family-friendly establishment,” said Troy.
It is common to see families with young children, as they have games for the kids to play.
They have live music daily, which is usually acoustic in nature, no full bands. “It is amplified, but not super loud,” said Troy.
They also do live trivia or music trivia or music bingo for entertainment.
Troy emphasized it is not a sports bar.
“We do not have a lot of TVs so people can sit around and cheer on the games. We have one TV that is generally off 95 percent of the time. We don’t want it on. We want people to come and enjoy each other’s time together and get to know each other better. In the last year, I’ve made more friends than I’ve made probably my entire lifetime doing this. It’s truly a treat to enjoy getting to know the community and getting the community to know us.”
They train their staff to get to know the patrons, to become their friends, and to become a part of the community. They donate a large portion of their profits back to the community, said Troy.
They maintain reasonable hours – 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. Friday, and noon to 11 p.m. on Saturday.
Inside the former fire station, there will be a large bar area with seating around it, then restaurant-style seating for the remaining area. The back area that is currently a reception hall would be left as is for that purpose. Offices in the building would be maintained for private meeting rooms. Up above, there are currently quarters for the firemen who used to stay there. They have talked about leaving that open and having dancing or yoga classes. There is the possibility for an Air BNB in the future where patrons can stay on the premises and have a brewing experience the next day.
They are pet-friendly since they do not serve food inside the building, and are not governed by the health department. They currently rotate food trucks. In the spring, they usually have a different truck every day, but in the winter, they will change them out every week.
The Burns’ do not need a liquor license. They are only required to have an A1C permit for the manufacturing of beer. They have no intention of bringing heavy alcohol onto the premises.
20 June, 2023
