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SIOUX CITY, Iowa (Iowa Media Wire) — Excitement is brewing in Sioux City as construction progresses on a new distillery slated to take over the historic Ogden building at 3rd and Perry Street.
“It’s just really nice to kind of see it starting to develop,” said the owner of Sioux City Distillery, Austin Foster.
For years, Austin Foster has dreamed of bringing his own distillery to life within the storied walls of the Ogden building at 3rd and Perry Street, drawn by its deep roots in Sioux City’s past.
“In my opinion,” said Foster, “The worst thing you can do in this space is cover any of it up because it’s beautiful as is. I believe it’s really hard to tell an old story in a new building.”
Last year, Foster and his team began work on their three-level distillery. Foster said each floor will have its own special feature.
“On the third level, we’re going to have all of these spaces. So think of that. 350 Person ballroom. We’ll have another 50-person party room, a 30-person conference room,” said Foster.
On the second level, there is going to be a world-class cocktail lounge, and we’ll have a tasting room. Also, we will have about 6,000 square feet for the restaurant.”
And the distillery’s crown jewel is its Vendome still, located on the first floor.
“That’s where we’re going to get into all of the production floor,” said Foster. “So that’s where the still actually lives. That’s where we’re going to do all of our bare land, all of our packaging, and all of our labeling. All of our palletizing and shipping, and all of that good stuff, will happen on the first floor. We’re going to make gin, rum, and whiskey right here in Siouxland, utilizing local grains, local botanicals, native to us here in the area.”
And to get their whiskey aged to perfection, Foster and his team installed a second building to store all of their barreled whiskey.
“Kind of putting up that structure allows us to be able to control the storage or the barrels, but also experience all of those big temperature swings without it being really impeded,” Foster said.
Foster expressed that when this place is all done and open to the public, he wants his establishment to be more than just a distillery, but a tourist attraction as well.
“When I think about distilleries, I think about them from a larger perspective as a tourism destination,” Foster said. “So we’ve been working with the board of Iowa Tourism to kind of get this space on the map as well.”
Foster said that he hopes to get the third floor open for the public by this December.