Norfolk, Va. (WTKR) - Norfolk's newest microbrewery, Coelacanth Brewing Company, is aiming for a late October or early November opening after reaching an exciting milestone Monday.
All of their brewing equipment arrived from Italy!
"Our brewing equipment has been on order from Europe, there’s a long lead time on most brewing equipment and ours is coming in from Italy," says Coelacanth founder Kevin Erskine.
The brewery has had a few setbacks over the last several months, mainly over parking and permitting concerns.
"We are relying mostly on street parking but we are also relying on people from the neighborhood to bike and walk," Erskine says. "Permitting got held up a little bit because there was some confusion about who actually regulated breweries."
After getting that straight, the next step is to continue with the construction inside the 60-year-old building on 22nd Street.
"We had to put all of these trench drains in and they are very complicated, especially when we are in a 60-year-old building and the floors aren't exactly flat and straight," Erskine told NewsChannel 3's Todd Corillo Monday.
Coelacanth will join other local craft breweries in Norfolk like O'Connor Brewing Co. and Smart Mouth Brewing Company. Meanwhile, permits have been filed for two more breweries in Norfolk in addition to Coelacanth -- Rip Rap Brewing, and Bold Mariner Brewing.
"The craft beer fan is generally not brand loyal, but they are loyal to craft beer. So someone that you see here today, you’ll definitely see at O'Connor tomorrow. Someone that you see at Smart Mouth, you’ll see here."
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