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Council approves two Central Business District projects to bring distillery, brewery and restaurants to downtown Kennesaw
Summary
Council approved a CBD project application to relocate and expand Lazy Guy Distillery at 2690 Keene Street and approved adjacent projects at 2861/2871 North Main Street featuring Reformation brewery/restaurant and related outdoor activation; approvals included design review notes and one council recusal was recorded on a related item.
The Kennesaw City Council on July 7 approved multiple Central Business District development applications intended to add hospitality, production and entertainment uses to downtown Kennesaw.
Mark Allen, proprietor of Lazy Guy Distillery, presented a proposal for 2690 Keene Street to consolidate production, storage and hospitality into a single 7,000-square-foot facility with approximately 1,100 square feet of expanded outdoor seating and a food offering. Allen said architectural features will echo downtown character and that architectural and civil design work is about 60% complete; he said the team hopes to go to general contractor bidding in four to six weeks.
Council then heard a second CBD package for two adjacent downtown parcels at 2861 and 2871 North Main Street. Developer Dale Hughes and Spencer Nix of Reformation described a two-story brewery, an attached restaurant using the existing Whistle Stop structure, a glassed 1,300-square-foot production area, an outdoor stage and event programming. Staff noted Historic Preservation Commission recommendations and KDDA support subject to additional architectural submissions.
Council asked technical questions about building orientation and structural constraints for adding a second floor to the existing Whistle Stop; Dale Hughes said adding another floor would likely require teardown or extensive structural reinforcement and could delay the project by six to nine months. After discussion, the council moved and approved the CBD applications; the record shows a council recusal noted earlier on a different CBD item.
What comes next: applicants will submit required architectural design drawings to the Historic Preservation Commission and work with plan review, building codes and fire marshal staff as required by the conditions of approval.
