Buffalo-based Big Ditch Brewery plans to open a brewery and tap room at the newly restored Historic Post Office, 1 East Ave.
Big Ditch Brewery president Matt Kahn introduced himself and his business at the Common Council’s Wednesday business meeting.
Kahn said he’s excited by the prospect of doing business in the Lock City, especially after visiting to check out the Historic Post Office and seeing lots of cars and people in the neighborhood as evening turned to night.
“Our name is a reference to the construction of the Erie Canal,” he said, and Big Ditch’s Hayburner IPA, the No. 1 selling craft beer in Western New York, is named “for the mules that used to tow the boats down the canal in the early days. ‘Work hard. Eat and sleep,’ says a little mule on the side of the can, and that’s our mascot.”
Mayor Michelle Roman said she first met Kahn while wearing a Lockport T-shirt.
“I said that Big Ditch needs to be near the Big Ditch,” she said.
Kahn is seeking the city’s support to obtain a Community Block Development Grant of $750,000.
According to Heather Peck, president of Greater Lockport Development Corporation, the grant is “half deferred,” meaning it’s a loan and half of it stands to be forgiven if Big Ditch fulfills a state requirement to create and fill 50 full-time jobs.
Kahn said Big Ditch will be investing at least $2 million into the Lockport tap room. The grant would fund up to 40% of the project, ultimately, he added.
