Gin tasting room joins Petaluma’s ‘Maker District’

The opening of Griffo Distillery’s tasting room in Petaluma this month marks the latest new attraction to launch in what was once an unassuming industrial block across from Lagunitas Brewing Company.|

The opening of Griffo Distillery’s tasting room in Petaluma this month marks the latest new attraction to launch in what was once an unassuming industrial block across from Lagunitas Brewing Company, an area that is increasingly becoming a destination in its own right for lovers and makers of craft libations.

The tasting room is the third for tiny Scott Street, and for distillery co-founder Michael Griffo, it’s the more, the merrier.

“Lagunitas is across there, and they have this huge audience,” he said. “The aggregate of us and the other breweries here create a huge draw as well.”

Despite a “soft launch” announced quietly through fliers and social media, Griffo said his tasting room was packed with fans when it opened Aug. 6. The distillery previously held only private events on site, but its inaugural Scott Street Gin has been on North Coast shelves – and palates – for more than a year.

The gin won a gold medal in the San Francisco World Spirits Competition earlier this year, which Griffo said has helped build the fan base for the small-batch spirit. It was one step under the international competition’s top-ranking “double gold.”

With no employees, it was up to Griffo and his wife, co-founder Jenny Griffo, to man the ship as the visitors started to pour in. Their 250-gallon copper still dubbed “Betty” was there for all to see, an artifact of a direct dynamic between maker and consumer that Michael Griffo said has become a common thread for producers in the area.

“It’s an off-the-grid sort of experience. You’re not walking through downtown Petaluma that has been well developed over more than a century. You’re in this more industrial neighborhood, and getting to know the people who make (craft beverages), and learning how they are made,” Griffo said.

As owner of the longest-operating taproom along the street, JJ Jay, head of Petaluma Hills Brewing Company, also cited a direct connection between makers and consumers as a distinct quality of the de-facto district. Having celebrated his own brewery’s second year in business in July, he lauded the opening of the new tasting room.

Along with 101 North Brewing Company, which opened a taproom in March, and Sonoma Coast Spirits, a nearby maker of premixed cocktails that does not have a public tasting room, Jay said the clustering of producers has given rise to talks around jointly promoting the area.

“It’s not just a vision – we’re actually working toward this. In the next year or two, I’d really love this area to have a designation. Not just Scott Street, but a couple of blocks around here,” Jay said. “And for that destination to become known as a place not only to taste and eat craft food and beverage, and to be able to experience the manufacturing of that. It’s not just a place to sit and drink, but a place to sit, drink and learn.”

The rise of beverage producers along Scott Street, as well as other makers along a larger section of North McDowell Boulevard, has not gone unnoticed in the halls of city government, said Ingrid Alverde, Petaluma’s economic development manager. A tourism guide currently under development calls out the broader area as “Makers Alley,” a nod to a variety of companies in food, precision manufacturing and other fields.

In respect to Scott Street itself, Alverde said the city is faced with balancing a desire to encourage those businesses with the complications from the area’s utilitarian past. The street is relatively short on amenities like parking and sidewalks, and those looking to open a tasting room in the area must currently apply for a permit on a case-by-case basis.

While no official project is underway, city staff are considering embarking on a preliminary study and outreach to other business to gauge interest in zoning that might make it easier for tasting rooms to set up shop or expand in the area, she said. Such a change would require approval from both the Petaluma Planning Commission and, ultimately, the Petaluma City Council.

“We’re looking at maybe opening that up a little bit,” she said, noting that safety of pedestrians flocking to the area would be a primary concern.“It could change things. Scott Street right now is a very industrial area, and though there are a number of breweries and distilleries, there are other property owners in the area.”

Adding to the creature comforts along Scott Street, Petaluma Hills now has a caterer five days a week outside of the brewery, Jay said. Direct taproom sales remain an important part of the business, and Griffo, noting that direct spirit sales became legal in California this year, said he anticipated it would be a source of growth into the future.

High on Griffo’s wish list would be a crosswalk between Lagunitas and Scott Street, he said.

“It would boost tourism here, and boost tourism dollars for the city,” he said.

Jay, of Petaluma Hills, agreed, saying he and his neighbors were working “to make this a destination that’s known outside of Petaluma, that maybe, eventually, is a national destination.”

Griffo said he’s currently experimenting with the best hours for the tasting room, which is currently open Thursday through Saturday, 1 p.m. to 8 p.m., and Sundays, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Visitors can try not only the gin, but also Griffo’s soon-to-launch whiskey at various stages of the barrel aging process.

(Contact Eric Gneckow at eric.gneckow@arguscourier.com)

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