After months of rigorous planning and preparations, Natalie and Vinnie Cilurzo, owners of Russian River Brewing Company (RRBC) in Santa Rosa, finally broke ground for their new Windsor facility on Friday, April 21 – using golden shovels. Click through the gallery above for photos from the ceremony.
The Cilurzos are planning to construct a large production facility and brewery on the site, located just outside of the Windsor Town Green, some 7 miles north of the original RRBC brewpub in Santa Rosa. The new location will also feature a restaurant and taproom, and guests will be able to tour the property. The Cilurzos are hoping that the Windsor location will take some of the pressure off the downtown Santa Rosa brewpub, which receives more than 300,000 visitors every year, and reduce the lines that occur on weekends and during beer releases.
Natalie and Vinnie Cilurzo opened their Santa Rosa brewery in 2004, with the help of 30 investors. They were recently able to pay back the investment and the new Windsor venture is self funded.
“We’ve assembled our own dream team to assemble our dream brewery,” said Vinnie Cilurzo. Architecture firm Archilogix will serve as the project design lead, along with BKF Engineering, construction consultant Del Nordby, landscape firm Quadriga, and landscape architect Bill Mastick. The new brewery is slated to open in the fall of 2018.
Stay tuned for more news on the RRBC Windsor facility.