A year after buying 192 Water Street, Alex Clark has opened the doors of Evermoore Brewing Company.
It has been a long road.
There have been more than a few bumps along the way as the local restauranteur, who also owns Open Eats on Water Street, worked to transform the downtown property.
That being said, every pour from the new beer taps is a small joy that helps makes the work worthwhile and Clark has been putting those taps to good use. He opened the doors about a week ago for a soft opening.
“It’s been incredible,” said Clark.
“It’s amazing just seeing people sitting at the bar here, chatting with them. We’re getting lots of tourists and locals alike. It’s great just seeing how everyone takes it all in and how much they appreciate or respect the work that’s been done on the property.”
Evermoore’s building was originally built about 90 years ago as Summerside’s train station. It then became a library in the 1990s and remained so until shortly before the City of Summerside sold it to Clark in July of 2017.
Clark started renovations but they turned out to be more extensive than he’d originally expected. The building required “a complete gut,” as he called it. But he was conscious of the unique characteristics of the structure and endeavoured to preserve as many of them as he could.
Post-renovation, the building houses the brewery, bar, and roomy seating for hanging out, playing games or watching live shows. There is room for a kitchen on site, but it won’t be completed until later.
In terms of the beer, Evermoore is still developing its product line. Clark is trying to get a feel for what the local market wants. There are currently two varieties on tap, their Hoppy Lager and Summerside Light.
JP Desrosiers, president of Explore Summerside, which is an association group for tourism operators in the city, welcomed news of the community’s first commercial brewery opening.
“The addition of Summerside’s newest brewery is yet another example of the new-found confidence in the tourism sector in the region,” Desrosiers.
“Evermoore Brewery provides yet another product that will further round the Summerside experience for our visitors. We are thrilled to see it come to life after extensive renovations to a Summerside landmark. We wish Alex and the whole crew at Evermoore the utmost success.”
Evermoore is open from 12 to 8 p.m., Monday to Thursday, and 12 p.m. until at least 10 p.m., Friday and Saturdays. Sunday mornings are tentatively scheduled for growler refills.
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