Distillery Set For Clarendon Hills

CLARENDON HILLS, IL — A distillery is being planned for downtown Clarendon Hills, offering tours and a tasting room. It is set to open by fall. This week, the Clarendon Hills Village Board approved a permit to let the business operate at 211 Burlington Ave.

Tierra Distilling Co. is planning a "green" distillery specializing in making flavored spirits, including whiskeys, brandies and liqueurs, among others. It also may include a coffee roaster shop. The distillery will be in the Arts Building, which once housed the village police and fire departments.

According to floor plans, the company is planning to renovate the building and improve its facade.

In December, Tierra representatives Brandon Getchel and John Keeley presented a slideshow of their plans to the village's zoning board, saying they picked Clarendon Hills because they liked the "vibe" of its downtown, according to meeting minutes. The duo told the board they had the property under a contract to purchase and hoped to close on it this month. They said the product would be stored in the basement during the aging process. An old dairy tank would be used for water storage and production.

In an interview, Getchel said the distillery could open in the summer, but it was best to say it would happen by fall.

"We feel like we have gone over some of the biggest hurdles, knock on wood," he said.

On Tierra's website, the company wrote about how it got started.

"What happens to all the fruit at the grocery store that doesn't find a good home? Well it turns out not much. That's where our passion for creating quality spirits offers a great solution," the firm said. "When it comes to producing our brandies, we don't shy away from the weirdos. Much of the fruit we use wouldn't win any beauty contests, but is completely safe for consumption and would otherwise end up in the landfill or compost pile."

The website continues, "We give this fruit a makeover (think 80's movies nerds) and a second chance to become the star of the show by transforming it into unique, flavor-packed brandies. We are also really interested in creating smooth and delicious white whiskies as well as your more traditional aged whiskies.

The site says, "We're a little location-less right now, but that should change soon!"

Getchel said the distillery is officially still location-less because the Clarendon Hills building is contingent on the closing.

At its meeting Monday, the village board was unanimous in its support of the special-use permit for Tierra. Details about Tierra's plans are included in the board's meeting packet.