Chicago’s own Smylie Brothers Brewing Co. has been approved by city officials to transform its production facility into a beer garden in Bowmanville, located at 5435 N. Wolcott Ave.
The company, owned by Mike Smylie, has used this facility since 2017 to produce beer for its locations in Chicago at 3827 N. Broadway and Evanston at 1615 Oak Ave. Now, City Council has approved building a seasonal beer garden with space for multiple food trucks. While the inside of the brewery will be renovated, no changes will be made to the outside of the building. Once Smylie secures final approvals and city permits for construction, he hopes to open by the end of the year but expects everything will be ready for the public sometime in Spring 2023.
“Since we opened there, we’ve been trying to figure out how to get a patio in there,” ears,” Smylie tells Block Club Chicago. “Five years went by in a hurry, and we actually just re-signed the lease for another five years.”
When customers can finally explore this new space, they will find the beer garden on the property’s open yard to the east and south of the existing brewery, according to the proposal. Smylie says he also is planning to add decorative crushed gravel paths, sun shades, and picnic tables with umbrellas. The most exciting aspect of this is the existing parking lot, which will be redesigned so food trucks can park next to the beer garden.
“And we’ll have some room for lawn games like bags,” Smylie says. “It’s going to be a pretty chill hangout area outdoors. You can come by, grab some beers, grab a bite to eat, and the kids can run around.”
This is a major accomplishment for Smylie, who opened the first in Evanston in 2014, followed by the Lakeview location last year. On top of this being the company’s third location, the new facility will feature beer from the other two brewpubs, plus a rotating list of seasonal beers.
“It’ll be a rotating lineup, but you’ll always see our mainstays, like our Helles Lager and Wolcott IPA,” Smylie said. “But we have the ability to pull product from either pub. We’ll also be doing special tappings since we have our barrel program at that site.”
