Boonville Brewing Co. gives way to new project

by Karen E. Culp

SBJ Staff

Springfieldians will not have a Boonville Brewing Company to entertain them any time soon, but the former antique mall and flea market on Boonville will soon have a new use.

The building already has a new owner. Julie and Scott Taylor were once part of a development with Wynkoop, a Colorado-based brewing company that planned to put a brew pub on the Boonville site. Wynkoop and the Taylors announced plans for the pub last fall, and the Taylors set out to raise the needed $1.8 million to get the pub going.

Wynkoop purchased the 57,000-square-foot building, then, when the money didn't come together for the development, sold it May 15 to Al Scott, a developer out of Abilene, Texas.

Julie Taylor said she raised $1.5 million of the $1.8 million needed for the project. "We came so close, but ultimately we were still $300,000 short," she said.

Part of the funding was to come from a NationsBank loan and three city loans, once the other portion of the funds were raised. Those loans were never closed on because part of the agreement was for the rest of the project's funding to be in place, Taylor said. Taylor had until April 1 to finish raising the money. Only two investors were local; six more were from out of state, Taylor said.

In February, Taylor said, the concerns about raising the full amount began, and it was then that Wynkoop introduced the April 1 deadline.

The investors have gotten their money back, and the Taylors remain optimistic about their involvement in the project, Julie Taylor said.

"It was a wonderful learning experience for us. I was crushed when it didn't take off, but working on the project was exciting in itself," she said.

The Taylors may continue to be involved in the building project as Al Scott develops his plans. Scott said he had not yet solidified his plans for the building, but will take it to a multi-tenant use, and hopes to have three or four tenants in the building.

"The building will be used as an entertainment complex of some sort," he said.

Dan Scott will also remain the architect on the project. Dan Scott said the plans for the building include a restaurant and nightclub, and room for a couple of other tenants. Dan Scott added that his major disappointment with the former project is that the Denver group has not paid him in full for his work on that project.

"That would have been a good use of the building, but the new owner has some good ideas for it as well," Scott said.

The Taylors are continuing to work on the building's interior at Al Scott's request, Taylor said, and may continue to be involved in the project.

"I don't know at this time whether we'll undertake another project like the brewery anytime soon. Right now we're just keeping our options open," Taylor said.

Al Scott said he wanted to purchase the building because he likes the Springfield and Branson area and wanted to get involved in this market. For now, he continues to live in Abilene, Texas.

"I've been interested in (the southwest Missouri) area of the country for some time now. I've never met nicer people than I have over there. They make me feel at home," Al Scott said.

Scott said he does not yet have a completion time for renovations to the Boonville building, but added that he hopes to have an establishment up and running "within the next couple of years."

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