Popular Kamloops brewery planning to expand
Bright Eye Brewing got the blessing of Kamloops council to nearly double its occupancy.
The North Shore brewery’s next step is to submit an application to the BC Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch to raise the maximum number of people from 110 to 200.
When the application was presented to city council during the regular meeting on Feb. 15, the only question came from Coun. Arjun Singh Singh who asked about parking.
Bright Eye Brewing co-owner Mitchell Forgie responded by saying there’s lots of parking.
“Personally I think that we have a lot more vacant lots and boarded up buildings on our north shore than we have parking problems,” he said.
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The only two letters of correspondence were in support of the application.
“We have seen first hand the positive aspect this business has had in our neighbourhood,” reads a letter from Gilles Ladouceur. “It is a well managed business always clean, always had good food and a good experience at this restaurant. We have had many of our students and tenants from our building enjoy this establishment.”
Joshua Knaak wrote a letter saying the expansion would benefit Tranquille Road by increasing the amount of pedestrian and vehicle traffic.
“Having additional foot traffic in the area would support other businesses as it would bring people to the North Shore, specifically Tranquille Road, that may not have been in the neighborhood otherwise,” he wrote.
“Another benefit to the increasing of Bright Eye Brewing’s maximum patron capacity is that it would increase the overall safety of the area. There is an already growing trend that the North Shore has become a trendier area in Kamloops to visit, and drawing additional people to the Tranquille corridor would only further support this shift in thinking.”
Council unanimously supported the application. Coun. Kathy Sinclair declared a conflict of interest and sat out.
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