HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2017-03-09, Page 19THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MARCH 9, 2017. PAGE 19.
Entertainment & Leisure
Cowbell marks one year since announcement
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Making progress
The new location of Blyth Cowbell Brewing Company, at the intersection of Blyth and London
Roads, is making great strides towards opening later this summer. The building is now
completely enclosed with extensive interior work ongoing. (Photo submitted)
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
On Feb. 25, Blyth Cowbell
Brewing Company marked one year
since Steven, David and Grant
Sparling announced their plans to
build a destination craft brewery on
the edge of the village.
While it has been a productive
year and plenty has been
accomplished, Grant says there is
still a lot of work to be done.
Currently there is a lot of work being
done on the interior of the Cowbell
farm building in anticipation of the
opening later this summer.
So much has happened in the past
365 days that General Manager and
Vice -President Grant Sparling says
it can be hard to comprehend at
times.
It was on a snowy Feb. 25, 2016
that the Sparling family welcomed
community members, neighbours
and local politicians to the
Emergency Services Training Centre
to be part of the announcement.
There, the three announced plans
for a destination brewery, event
space and restaurant, along with
plans for the company's first beer,
Absent Landlord, named for Henry
Blyth, the village's namesake.
Several weeks later, Absent
Landlord would be available in
Guild meets
Continued from page 17
Wednesday, April 12.
A discussion was held about
inviting Molesworth ladies to join
with us for one of our monthly
meetings. A speaker was suggested
and will be looked into for a suitable
date. Elaine handed out information
of what the area WMS societies
have been doing. A letter was read
asking for donations to the Huron
County Food Bank Distribution
Centre.
Alice Marks gave the Guild
treasurer's report and Leona
Armstrong gave the WMS
treasurer's report.
Minutes were adopted as read on a
motion by Mary Douma, seconded
by Margaret Work.
The roll call was answered by
giving the last few words of a
selected scripture. Collection was
taken.
liquor stores across the province, as
well as locally, with hundreds of
cans selling out at the Blyth location
on the first day.
Sparling says that what began as a
modest plan to enhance tourism on
Blyth's main street has continued to
grow to a point he now finds
astonishing.
The concept began several years
ago, Sparling said, as a smaller
vision for a brewpub on the main
street of Blyth. At the time, the
vision was to occupy a building
where small batches of beer could be
served at the pub and sold in
growlers to customers within a 50 -
mile radius of the village.
This project, he said, would build
upon Blyth's existing tourism
foundation with the Blyth Festival
and the soon -to -be -constructed
Canadian Centre for Rural
Creativity, adding yet another
attraction to the village.
As conversation evolved, Sparling
said it made sense for the family to
utilize land that had been in the
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A peek inside
While the exterior of the Blyth Cowbell Brewing Company
building is coming along well, it's the interior that is making
great strides forward, as seen here in a current picture of
the inside of the building. (Photo submitted)
2:00 to 3:30 pm
250 Gypsy Lane, Blyth
Belgrave*
Wing &* s
Pub
Night
Saturday, March 18
6:00 pm - 10:00 pm
at the
Belgrave Community
Centre
**Live Music**
Take out available
starting at 5:00
519-357-4220
Hosted by the
Belgrave Community Centre Board
family since the 1970s at the corner
of Blyth and London Roads.
Planning a destination brewery and
restaurant on such a large piece of
land, he said, really changed the
dynamic of the proposal.
When things really began to shift,
he said, was when discussions with
LCBO representatives were much
more fruitful than he ever
envisioned.
While the scope of the project
continued to grow, Sparling and
others who had been involved in the
early days were getting consistently
more optimistic about the project.
However, it wasn't until it was
brought to the LCBO that they were
met with similar optimism and
enthusiasm. At this point in the
process, very few people knew about
the project.
When LCBO representatives met
those from Cowbell with enthusiasm
for the future, Sparling said that he
and his team knew they were sitting
on something special.
From there, the vision and the
team continued to grow from what
President Steven Sparling called "a
simple retirement project" to one of
the biggest and most ambitious
developments in Huron County in
recent years.
Grant said that under the initial
model, he envisioned that one
territory manager would cover beer
sales throughout that 50 -mile radius
around Blyth the company initially
accounted for. Now the company has
six territory managers and beer is
being sold from Windsor to Ottawa
and up to North Bay.
He says it really hits home with
him when construction at the
building hits a milestone. Whether
it's when the timber frames were
erected or when the building was
completely enclosed, Grant says
there have been many instances
when he has had to stop and marvel
at the enormity of the project he's
undertaken.
While the past year with Cowbell
has been a positive one for the
community and for the business at
large, Grant says it has meant a lot to
him personally as well.
Working alongside both of his
parents, Steven and Laurie, and his
uncle David, Grant says he feels he's
experiencing something he wasn't
alive to experience: the early family
business model at Sparling's
Propane.
He says he's heard stories from
Steven and David about working
with their father Grant, founder of
Sparling's Propane, and all the
lessons in business and in life they
would take home with them after a
day at the office.
Grant now says that he's able to
learn from his parents through his
chosen career path like they learned
from his grandfather.
Grant said that no one will ever be
more invested in his personal
success than his father, so it's been a
treat to work with him on a day-to-
day basis.
He also said that he has been truly
humbled by both the work being
done and the response to the
company's Greener Pastures
Community Fund, which is working
to raise funds for the province's four
major children's hospitals, as well as
the Canadian Centre for Rural
Creativity in the company's home
village.
For more information on the
company, visit cowbellbrewing.com.
East Wawanosh 150th
Anniversary
Ambassador Competition
Saturday, May 27
2-4 pm
Belgrave Community Centre
Crowning of the Ambassador
during a dessert and coffee
social time
7:00 - 8:30 pm
To enter the Ambassador
Competition please contact
Kim Walker 519-357-3237
kimwalker@ hurontel.on.ca
Contestants can be male or female
Must be 17-23 years of age
Currently live or have lived in
East Wawanosh Township
Deadline to enter is April 3, 2017
far
30 The Square
-4110
GODERICH 519 524 7811
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