New business on the way to town: South Lake Brewing Company

South Lake Tahoe natives Nicole Riegel Smith and Chris Smith have returned to their hometown, this time as college graduates with an expertise in brewing beer and a desire to open a new business on the South Shore.

Plans have been submitted and the work will soon begin on the Smith's venture. South Lake Brewing Company. They have signed the lease for the long vacant Ace Hardware building on the corner of Tata Lane and Lake Tahoe Blvd.

If all goes as planned, they will be opening in January, 2017. They have to wait for City approval on the building, which has to be completely overhauled to have a brewery and restaurant, along with government licenses from the Alcohol Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau and Alcohol Beverage Control.

The 2006 South Tahoe High graduates both graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with degrees in engineering. During his college days, Chris worked for Firestone Walker Brewing Company on the Central Coast in their events and marketing department. The couple has been planning their brewery for the last three years, and it took them one year to find the location that they feel will be best suited for their endeavor.

"I fell in love with craft beer and home brewing while working for Firestone Walker," Chris said.

And their degrees will help put that love into the business. Chris's degree was in Material Engineering so he knows how things will work, while Nicole's is in Industrial Engineering, so she'll know how to make it efficient.

The new business will have casual seating along long tables and at the bar, with full view of the vats and kitchen. Nicole said they'll be offering some "high-quality" food to go with the beers, but not an extensive menu. They plan on hvaing East Coast style sandwiches including Philly Cheese Steak.

"We want to make it friendly and inviting for both locals and visitors," she said. "This will be a place for socializing."

The Smiths said they'll add some games and a small stage, but won't rely on the television always being on sports channels except during big events. The decor will be "modern industrial with a mountain feel" they said.

The 6,000 square foot space gives the new brewery a place to expand as they hope to grow to be able to can their local beer and distribute kegs to local restaurants and beer connoisseurs.

"We want it to be at all of the favorite local restaurants," Chris said.

The craft beer industry is a growing one. In 2015 in the US, while the overall beer industry grew by just .2 percent, the craft beer industry grew 16.3 percent, taking away business from the traditional beer companies. The overall beer industry had $105.9 billion in sales last year, while the craft beer portion was $22.3 billion.

In 1873 there were 4,131 breweries in the US (according to the brewers association). That number fell to 90 in 1979 (without counting the years of Prohibition) and now stands at 4,269. The growing craft brewery numbers now boast 1,650 brewpubs, 2,397 microbreweries and 178 regional breweries. The remaining 44 are non-craft breweries.

Even though there is competition, the Smiths said that everyone has been very cooperative in helping them get their dream off the ground.

Their website can be found at: www.southlakebeer.com