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Store Fri Oct 05 2012
Brew Camp to Reopen in Ravenswood
Brew Camp, the North Center-based home brew supply store, announced today that it is moving to 4639 N. Damen Ave., after its former location at 2039 W. Belle Plaine Ave. was closed by the City earlier this week due to improper licensing.
"It's a great space -- twice as big as the other one, and a much better location," co-owner Jared Saunders said.
Even though Brew Camp only sold home brewing equipment and the raw ingredients for beer -- prepackaged yeast, grain and hops -- Health Department inspectors ruled that the store must have a food preparation license. The store closed on Oct. 1 in order to obtain the license, and the owners initially planned to take the time to remodel the shop.
"We simply need the correct license," Saunders and co-owner Whit Nelson wrote on their Facebook page. "We did our best to understand the city's requirements when we started up. Over the past year, representatives at both the city and state levels have expressed that they don't have a clear picture of 'how to deal with homebrew shops' because we 'aren't a typical business.' There are hundreds of bars, restaurants and grocery stores throughout the city -- all of which have clearly established licensing protocol - and only a handful homebrew shops. We are, essentially, your grocery store. And you should be protected when you buy stuff that's going through your body. This is a good thing."
The new location is directly south of the Damen Brown Line station. It previously housed an outpost of Bagel on Damen, which closed in early January. The storefront has been vacant since. No word yet on when it will open, but Brew Camp will initially only offer equipment sales, but ingredients will return to the shelves as quickly as city permits allow.
