USA, CA: Two breweries preparing to open in Ojai Valley

A former owner of Golden Road Brewing in Los Angeles has purchased a long-vacant bowling alley in Ojai with the idea of turning the property into a microbrewery, restaurant and boutique hotel, according to a local architect connected to the project, Ventura County Star reported on July 14.

Brewer and restaurateur Tony Yanow completed the purchase of the 1½-acre property at 1202 E. Ojai Ave. in June, said Marc Whitman, of Whitman Architectural Design, Inc.

Preliminary plans for the project were presented to the Ojai Planning Commission in May and have since been revised to address privacy concerns raised by neighbors, Whitman said on July 13.

The project will be built in two phases, he said. The brewery and restaurant are in the first phase, with a proposed two-story, 36-room hotel in the second.

The project currently is in the environmental-review stage, which likely will take several months to complete, Whitman said.

Meanwhile, another microbrewery is under construction elsewhere in Ojai.

The owners of Ojai Valley Brewery earlier in July installed pipes at its future production facility on Bryant Street.

If all goes as planned, beers made there by brewmaster Jeremy Haffner will be served starting this fall on the back patio turned beer garden at AZU Restaurant, the family business managed by Haffner's wife, Elizabeth Haffner, and owned by his mother-in-law, Laurel Moore.

Ojai Valley Brewery's focus will be on beers made with local herbs and fruits, like sage and Pixie tangerines, said Elizabeth Haffner.

24 July, 2016