For the past year, construction on 5 Rights Brewery’s building off Highway 204 in Lake Stevens has been moving along apace, tantalizing local beer drinkers. But a noticeable slowdown in construction has raised questions on when 5 Rights, currently brewing out of a garage in Marysville, would be opening its new flagship location.
The answer is unfortunately murky. In a post to the brewery’s Facebook page on Thursday, R.J. Whitlow, owner and head brewer of 5 Rights, announced that due to a number of unforeseen issues, the brewery is unable to move forward on construction of the Lake Stevens building.
“Despite tireless efforts, our family has been unable to come up with a mutually acceptable agreement and timeline to move forward with the existing building ownership,” Whitlow wrote in the post.
“The extreme delays in getting this location online have put a significant (and accumulating) financial burden on our family and have forced us to reassess our next steps. Because of this, we have made a decision that we can no longer wait around for this location’s completion and the agreement needed to do so.”
Whitlow said the building, which was designed specifically to house 5 Rights’ brewery and restaurant, is about 85 percent complete, including the 10-barrel brewhouse. Whitlow has invested hundreds of hours and substantial money into the project but has encountered countless delays due to unexpected circumstances.
“We’re still trying and we believe that Lake Stevens is our home and 5 Rights will be a real positive for the community, but right now we can’t go on under the current circumstances,” said Whitlow. “We’re staying positive through it all.”
5 Rights was named Washington’s 2017 Small Brewery of the Year. Going forward, Whitlow will continue to brew out of the garage brewery in Marysville and deliver beers to locations in Snohomish County and Seattle area, including The Independent Beer Bar, Toggle’s Bottleshop, Brat From Deutschland, The Hop and Hound and Chuck’s Hop Shop-Greenwood.
Center Public House grand opening: Scott and Loni Wetzel will celebrate the opening of their pub, Snohomish’s Center Public House, from 2 to 10 p.m. June 9 at the pub on Avenue A in Snohomish. There will be specials, giveaways and plenty of beer and wine.
Center Public House, Washington’s first nonprofit pub, will allow patrons to choose which organization they’d like to support every time they eat or drink in their establishment. The pub will support four nonprofit organizations in its first year: Snohomish Community Food Bank, Abused Deaf Women’s Advocacy Services, Sarvey Wildlife Care Center and Take the Next Step, a community drop-in center in Monroe.
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