E-Malt.com News article: USA, FL: American Icon Brewery’s opening date set for mid-October

The first brewing tanks arrived last week at the American Icon Brewery in downtown Vero Beach, marking a milestone in the old building’s transformation from power plant to microbrewery, restaurant and event space, TCPalm reported on August 21.

Construction at the building continues at a frenzied speed, with an opening date set for mid-October, said developer Michael Rechter.

Although original plans called for the opening in July, the time was pushed to the fall to make sure everything is completed exactly as Rechter envisions.

“Everything is in process,” said Rechter on Aug. 16, as he met with construction foremen at the site on 20th Street near 14th Avenue.

“We are on-track; the construction crews said they’ll be out of here in six weeks and once the construction is done, we’ll need a few weeks to run through operations, and of course, brew the beer.”

Rechter bought the building from the city last year for $500,000 and is expanding the site to include a patio and garden area, as well as a mezzanine that will allow customers to look down on the operations of the active brewery.

Renderings of the American Icon Brewery have been posted on Facebook for months, spurring interest from people who want the building to become the focal point of downtown revitalization.

“We have a lot of things happening at the same time,” Rechter said. “The mezzanine is built and the elevator will be installed next week. We are basically done with the building’s infrastructure and are moving ahead on developing the menu and branding.”

In June and July, Rechter invited members of the public to meet with him and brewmaster Jesse Robles to taste some of the beers under development.

“We learned a lot about what people like,” Rechter said. “Now we’re at the point where we can take some of their comments and incorporate them into the line of beers we will be offering.”

Rechter is concentrating his efforts on marketing, branding and future distribution of the beers that will be part of the American Icon brand.

“The culture of American Icon is almost as important as the beer and the building,” he said. “It is really about who we are and what separates us from everyone else.We’re trying to push the idea of American values and incorporate that into our marketing strategy.”

Key members of the management team are already in place, with hiring for cooks, servers and bartenders expected to begin in about a month.

“All of the things that are happening in the next few weeks are going to turn this place into the destination is going to be,” Rechter said. “People are excited about the project; the average local knows about it and the city has been bending over backwards to help us. I’m excited.”


21 August, 2017