Since 2012, the distillery has made a splash with its award-winning spirits and was the first to legally distill liquor in the state since Prohibition with its flagship Copper City Bourbon.
Now, the company is moving into a new space with a strong connection to its history. The century-old building it will call home was originally the headquarters of a produce company owned by former Mesa mayor and councilman, the late Zebulon Pearce.
It housed a large refrigeration system, which was appealing to Coors Brewing Co. and led the brewer to award Pearce the first Coors distributorship outside of Colorado after Prohibition ended in 1933. A 6-foot bronze statue of Pearce still stands in his honor.
It housed a large refrigeration system, which was appealing to Coors Brewing Co. and led the brewer to award Pearce the first Coors distributorship outside of Colorado after Prohibition ended in 1933. A 6-foot bronze statue of Pearce still stands in his honor.
At 10,000 square feet, the Mesa spot is double the size of the company's current Tempe headquarters. The majority of the space will be dedicated to production, which will increase by 500 percent, says co-owner Jon Eagan.
With its current Tempe production facility, the distillery can produce two or three barrels of whiskey a week. But once Mesa is up and running, an additional 10 barrels will be added to that weekly total.
The Mesa space will also house a tasting room roughly the same size as the one in Tempe at 1,200 square feet with a customer capacity of about 50. But that promises to be the only similarity.
Arizona Distilling Co.'s current Tempe bar and production facility will soon be joined by the distillery's new location in downtown Mesa, slated to open by the end of the summer.
Arizona Distilling Co.
The tasting room will also house a sunken, horseshoe-shaped bar with a copper top. In stark contrast to the bright, casual tasting room ambiance in Tempe, there are no windows in the Mesa bar, which will flaunt the low-lit feel of a sleek lounge.
“That vibe lends itself to our products as well,” says co-owner and distiller Jason Grossmiller.
A new cocktail menu developed by beverage director Micah Olson will complement the mood. Both the menu and look of the space were inspired by Eagan and Olson’s visits to cocktail bars in Tokyo, London and New York City.
In Mesa, Eagan and Grossmiller will see their longtime vision come to fruition.
“That’s what we really wanted when we moved into Tempe but we couldn’t do it in this building,” Eagan says. “But this building (in) downtown (Mesa) lent itself to that.”
The need for more space to accommodate production sparked a years-long search for a second location before Egan and Grossmiller found the facility on Main Street just east of Robson.
At the Tempe location, the kitchen was suspended during the pandemic and remains closed, although the owners hope to reopen it in the future. However, there is no plan to serve food at the Mesa location. Instead, the focus will be on the spirits.
Arizona Distilling Co.'s signature old fashioned is among the cocktails that will likely be on the menu at the distillery's upcoming new tasting room in downtown Mesa.
Arizona Distilling Co.
In Mesa, the new distillery location finds itself amid a hotbed of independent food and beverage brands with anticipated openings in the upcoming months. Pedal Haus Brewery, Level 1 Arcade Bar and Urban Legend Beer Co. from the Chupacabra Taproom team are among them. The already popular Cider Corps cidery, which has collaborated with Arizona Distilling, sits 50 feet north of the distillery’s upcoming location.
“Just [by] seeing how Mesa is getting behind all the locally-owned businesses moving in," Grossmiller says, "we’re excited about downtown Mesa.”
Arizona Distilling Co.
601 W. University Drive, Tempe
Coming soon: 155 W. Main St., Mesa
Coming soon: 155 W. Main St., Mesa
