Brewery In Planning – New Rochelle

The new, more relaxed zoning would allow for both smaller, more niche brand tasting rooms to exist in the city without a full production apparatus under the same roof. It would also enable existing local farm brewers to have satellite facilities in New Rochelle through which they could distribute their products.

Two of the biggest local brewers, Elmsford’s Captain Lawrence and Broken Bow in Tuckahoe, had varying reactions to the proposed new zoning. Captain Lawrence owner Scott Vaccaro said he did not think his brewery would be able to take advantage of the new zoning as his is not a farm brewer.

Kristen Stone, co-owner of Broken Bow, said the idea sounded interesting.

“It’s something to think about,” she said.

More enthusiastic was Chris Sheldon, a New Rochelle native who once expressed interest in opening a small farm brewery in his home city but ended up establishing Diner Brew Co. in Mount Vernon instead. He doesn’t intend to move his production facilities to another location now that they’re established, but he is happy about the prospect of being able to sell his products in his hometown.

“The flexibility of the city government and council to be forward looking and willing to work with businesses like mine is personally exciting,” Sheldon said.

The impetus for another look at the zoning code came when an as-yet-unnamed entrepreneur approached the city with an idea, Bramson said. Officials soon realized the 2017 update, which required a brewery’s production and tasting room to be in the same place, was not enough to accommodate the entrepreneur’s idea.

The revised zoning, both 2017 and current, also opens the door for existing bars and pubs in the city to brew and sell their own products. New Rochelle Planning Commissioner Luiz Aragon said none of them have approached the city about making such a change so far.