WILSON — Good news is brewing in the village, with the planned conversion of the long-vacant, century-old Cold Storage building on Lake Street into the community’s first microbrewery.

The property at 638 Lake St. recently was purchased by a local family, and sights have been set on opening the Woodcock Brothers Brewing Co. by next summer.

Mark Woodcock and his wife, Andrea, of Youngstown, and brother, Tim, and his wife, Debbie, of the Village of Wilson, are behind the estimated $1.3 million project.

They also envision the addition of a small restaurant and plenty of rental retail space in the nearly 50,000-square-foot complex.

The brewery would use about 24,000 to 30,000 square feet in the stone building portion of the site, Mark Woodcock said.

“We will leave about 12,000 square feet across three levels in the stone building open, which we feel would be perfect for a winery to join us,” he said. “We feel this could really enhance this as a destination.”

The Woodcocks also are readying the attached, two-story, metal building portion of the site to rent as retail space. They will also rent a small, brick, former office building for additional retail space.

“We are redoing the entire facade of the metal building so that it will have an outdoor patio section and the storefronts will set back with covered entrances,” Mark Woodcock said. “We could also use this space for room to spill outside during brewery events.”

As to the stone structure, “Our intent is to maintain its historic appearance,” he added. “It’s unique, and it will give people something to look at. There are great big timbers inside and a freight elevator which we will suspend in midair, which still has leather pulleys. We’ll preserve it, but it won’t be functional.”

The brothers’ work on the project has been limited to evenings and weekends, as Mark owns Ricmar Electric Inc. in North Tonawanda, started by their father, Richard, 31 years ago. Tim is a foreman and project coordinator for the company, and Mark’s wife, Andrea, is the treasurer.

“The original Cold Storage site is over 100 years old, and I have seen pictures, and it’s amazing how industrial Wilson was back then, with sawmills and flour mills,” Mark Woodcock said. “The train ran right by the Cold Storage. The metal building is sitting on the foundation of the original stone building, and we believe it was built for cold storage for fruit, and one gentleman told me he believed it was used for ice at one time.”

“The years have not been kind to it, and a substantial amount of work needs to be done, but we’re gaining on it,” he said. “We put a brand new roof on it when we bought it, and we’ve installed new drainage. We’re in the process of securing funding and looking at incentives through the Niagara County Industrial Development Agency and pursuing grants.”

While Mark, who at 51 is the older brother, is overseeing the construction work, Tim, 39, will head the brewery. Andrea is overseeing the business end of things, and Debbie is in charge of securing licensing.

“We’re sharing the workload,” Tim Woodcock said. He said he first started brewing beer about eight years ago and recalled that the brothers first knocked around the idea of opening their own microbrewery a couple of summers ago. When the former cold storage site became available, they felt they had found the perfect fit.

“This will be a production brewery,” Tim Woodcock said. “We’ll produce beer for local restaurants and taverns, and we’ll have a restaurant of our own, serving our own beer, bar-type food and wine and liquor, as well.”

The Woodcocks estimate they could hire up to 20 to 30 employees when the brewery and restaurant open.

“This is a spark for Wilson, something new to draw people here,” Tim Woodcock said.

Village Mayor Patrick Kelahan said, “They are eager to get going. This is really a cool thing. The location suits their needs, and they’re preserving the historic nature of the building. I’ve walked through it and have seen their sketches, and it’s going to be a great spot.”

“It’s going to be unique,” Tim Woodcock said.

Anyone interested in learning more about renting retail space is asked to call the Woodcocks at 957-6625.

niagaranews@buffnews.comnull