USA, VT: Mach family to open brewery in Pawlet in October

Gib Mach, owner of the 1804 building in the center of Pawlet, Vermont, held a public meeting on May 11 to inform residents about his plan for the expansive, empty building, Rutland Herald reported on May 13.

Mach plans to reopen the general store portion of the building, with a brewery in the back portion.

He hopes to open the doors in October.

The previous general store closed its doors in December 2014, and Mach almost walked away. “He had kind of given up on the building at that point,” said his daughter, DeAnna Mach. “He basically said he was going to retire and move somewhere.”

The building and the business is in the family, she said, and she was not about to let her dad walk away from an opportunity.

“I kind of pulled him back in to something new, gave him an elbow nudge and told him we could do this,” she said.

And that something new will be a restaurant that will seat roughly 80 people, with a brewery in the back.

“It will really be the sense of local and fresh,” Mach said. “There will be as many products as we can get from down the surrounding area, supporting the local economy.”

Keith Mason, chairman of the Pawlet Select Board, said the board will discuss next week how the potential business will fit into the overall atmosphere of the town.

Carol Shehadi, a Pawlet resident, walked around the building with her hands clasped.

“This is just so very exciting and wonderful,” she said. “It will be perfect — just what the town needs.”

Gib Mach said Vermont is so involved with agriculture and brewing, and his family hopes to become part of the movement.

“We really want to make this a destination location,” DeAnna Mach said. “There are a lot of great places to eat and drink in northern Vermont, but we want to represent this end of the state.”

15 May, 2015