Courtesy / Allagash
Allagash Brewing Co. founder Rob Tod said the company loves the idea of being part of two communities, Portland and Scarborough.
Updated: September 8, 2022
Maine's biggest brewer stakes claim in Scarborough with land purchase agreement
Courtesy /Allagash Brewing Co.
Rolling out the barrel? Allagash Brewing Co., based in Portland, is getting ready to expand to Scarborough, via a land purchase agreement at the Downs mixed-use development.
The Downs mixed-used development in Scarborough will be home to Allagash Brewing Co.'s second tasting room, which is slated to open in 2024.
Allagash Brewing, led by founder Rob Tod, is Maine's largest brewer with 140 employees in Portland, where the company has its brewing operations and a tasting room that remains outdoors-only. A spokeswoman for the company said that once the Scarborough tasting room opens, the brewer will replace its current Portland tasting facility with a new space there.
Tod founded Allagash in 1995, long before Maine became a craft-beer destination with more than 145 breweries across the state today in both urban and rural areas.
"The Downs was one of the many places we looked at when considering a new location," Tod told Mainebiz. "Given our priorities, it offered the right space for us to create the best possible experience for our guests."
About a 15-minute drive from Allagash HQ on Industrial Way, the new space "will be basically adjacent to the Portland community that we've always called home," Tod said. "We love the idea of being a part of two communities: Portland and Scarborough."
Allagash said Thursday it is buying seven acres in the mixed-use development.
Allagash isn't disclosing the purchase price for the land since the deal hasn't yet been closed. Asked about building during a time of rising construction costs, Tod said it's hard to predict what will happen next month let alone a year from now.
"We needed to make a decision when it was right for us as a company," he said.
Allagash doesn't yet have a design for the future building or a date when it expects to break ground. Tod said the company will work with local design and engineering professionals to create the space. The real estate transaction, which has not yet closed, is being brokered by Drew Sigfridson and Jon Rizzo of the Boulos Co.
Tod also said that once the layout is decided, the company will have a better sense of the employee count in Scarborough, adding: "This is a great opportunity for our current staff, and also an area of the brewery where we'll be able to hire and retain staff."
Naomi Neville, who oversees Allagash's tasting operations in Portland, will also head up operations at the new facility in Scarborough. Allagash will be the first hospitality business at the Downs, which will also include Maine's first Costco store under a plan recently approved by the Scarborough Planning Board.
"We're very proud to welcome Allagash to Scarborough," said Peter Michaud, a partner in the Downs, the site of the former Scarborough Downs harness race track that closed in November 2020.
"Allagash's presence will solidify the Downs as one of the best places in Maine to live, work and play," Michaud added.
Allagash was ranked Maine's largest brewer in the latest edition of the Mainebiz Fact Book, based on 118,315 barrels produced between July 2020 and June 2021.
Courtesy / Allagash Brewing Co.
The Allagash tasting room in Portland, where it also has its brewing operations, is located on Industrial Way.
The brewer was also listed at No. 23 among U.S. craft brewers in 2021 in the latest ranking by the Boulder, Colo.-based Brewers Association, moving up from No. 29 the previous year.
Despite the planned expansion to Scarborough, Tod said the company's brewing operations and facilities will stay put in Portland.
"This is one of the key reasons we're looking to move our tasting room," he said, "because we simply need more space at our current brewery to accommodate future plans to expand there."
The move comes three years after Tod received a James Beard Award, considered an Oscar of the culinary world, for Outstanding Wine Beer or Spirits Producer.
Elsewhere in Maine, another brewer in expansion mode is Brewer-based Mason's Brewing Co., which recently unveiled plans for a new brewery, distillery and restaurant at a mixed-used riverfront property in Auburn.
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