USA, NY: Ballston Spa family hopes to open brewery, wood-fired pizza shop soon

A Ballston Spa family said it was tired of looking at the rundown, two-story 6,000-square-foot building at 11-13 Washington St. Once a dress factory, it had been vacant for about 30 years.

Randy Elliott, his wife Kelly Delaney-Elliott and their son R.J. Elliott, 22, bought the building in May 2020 for $180,000.The project in mind: a farm brewery and wood-fired pizza business on the second floor. R.J. was given the task of shepherding it along, The Daily Gazette reported on January 15.

“We bought it because we’ve lived in the village forever and it was a vacant building and we wanted to revitalize it,” R.J. said. “We wanted to bring it back to life and start bringing businesses to Washington Street, and clean up the area.”

Recently, the proposal went before the village Planning Board.

“We expect, by the next meeting, we should have the building permit,” R.J. said, “and be full steam ahead.”

On the first floor about 1,500 square feet will be retail space, while the brewery’s taproom will occupy about 2,000 square feet. An additional 800 square feet will be flexible space, and the remaining space will be used for storage.

Elsewhere in the village, his parents also own a building they lease to the Brickyard Tavern & Grill on Milton Avenue. They also own residential rental properties.

“They’ve been invested in the area for a long time and owned many buildings over the years,” said R.J., who joined the business recently.

There are a wealth of brewery options in the area, including The Real McCoy Beer Co. with its main brewery in Malta, and a second location on Washington Street in Ballston Spa, and Unified Beerworks, which is in Malta as well, just to name a few.

R.J. said the family intends to partner with SUNY Schenectady’s brewing internship program, allowing students to gain experience from their build-out of the brewery from scratch. The students can also work for the family — should they elect to do so — after completing the SUNY program.

As a New York state farm brewery, the majority of its products will be sourced from local farms.

17 January, 2022