Couple Wants to Bring Gin Distillery to Downtown LG

LG City Council Mulls Permission

A couple who moved to La Grange about a year ago wants to open a gin distillery on the Square. But first they need permission from the City Council.

David and Vicki McGrath hope to open La Grange Distilling Company at 229 W. Travis St. Their plans for the building include a commercial distillery producing their premium product, La Grange Gin, sold in ceramic bottles that would be manufactured on site. The building would also include a tasting room and retail area along with a demonstration gin school where small groups can learn to make gin and go home with their own bottle.

The McGraths presented their business plan to the La Grange City Council at a meeting Monday night, Aug. 28.

“Our intention is to create a very modern, ultra-premium, authentic Texas-made and Texas-distilled and Texas-distributed product,” said David McGrath.

The McGrath’s business plan includes a three to five year target of one million bottles per year, which they said represents five percent of the market share in this region. They plan to offer their gin on the international market as well.

“We have a bold vision,” McGrath said. “We intend to go big. This is not a hobby for us. The intention is to put stamp on the American market … We want to make La Grange Gin a household word. Think of Tito’s Vodka – that’s what we plan to do.”

The City’s zoning regulations, however, prohibit the production of alcohol spirits in the downtown historic district.

“We are here today, and I apologize but I don’t know whether its a rezoning or ordinance change, but at the end of the day we are requesting your support to enable us to legally manufacture alcohol in that space,” McGrath said.

McGrath said he hoped the Council would make a decision about his request within the next two months so that he can move forward with launching operations.

“With your help, and if the creeks don’t rise, maybe by the first quarter of next year we can make our first bottle of gin,” McGrath said.

The distillery would be located in the back of the building, and McGrath said it would not intrude on the neighborhood.

“This is not a large whiskey distillery with multiple columns, or a brewery, or mash and smells and smoke,” he said. “Gin is a very simple and elegant distillation operation.”

Instead of changing the zoning ordinance, City Attorney Angela Beck proposed a special use permit for La Grange Distilling at 229 W. Travis. The prohibition on manufacturing alcohol would remain in place for the other properties in the historic district.

“There’s no provision in that district for special use permits, so we would have to create an ordinance to have special use permits for that district,” Beck said. “So its going to be a two-step process. The first place to start as soon as possible is the general services committee. See what they want to do. Refer that to the zoning commission. Then they’ll set their agenda and have a public hearing. Then it comes to Council. That process, start to finish, is not going to happen in two months. It’ll probably be November before we can complete that process.”

“We’re not going anywhere,” McGrath said.

McGrath said he would present the idea to the general services committee.