OUR SOUTHLANDS STORY
We have a building! Well, almost... It's hard to describe the feeling of actually stepping foot into a space that has been in planning for so many years. It's surreal for sure, but it's also thrilling, as well as a little emotional if we're being honest. Walking through the interior spaces of what's to become our hometown Restaurant and Brewery destination has its way of sparking all kinds of creative inspiration. From visualizing the brewhouse and bar area, to imagining the food coming out the pass into a bustling dining room. This passion project is certainly starting to take shape, and it is beginning to feel like all of these years of planning will finally be coming to fruition soon! It's taken a tremendous amount of work from numerous talented people to get to this stage, but in many ways the real work is just around the corner.
After breaking ground on the site in early 2022, the concrete slab was poured in the fall and we are now finally at the stage where the roof is on and windows are going in. Blue City Construction is making solid progress on the base building, and we are scheduled to get the keys to the building so we can start building out our space in October or November of this year. From there, with the help of our friends, we will spend roughly six months constructing our brewery, restaurant and retail shop, all while preparing to open our doors in late spring of 2024. We have a lot of great things in store, and we can't wait to share this dream with the community we call home.
Since first speaking to Century Group in 2014, we’ve been in love with the idea of being a part of the agriculturally focused, beachside community development called Southlands. Currently being built in our hometown of Tsawwassen, Southlands is a community rooted in farming and food with ample farmland and public spaces.
As our business grew rapidly in the early years, we began discussions with Century Group about the prospect of building a new brewing facility with an attached restaurant in the Southlands. Years were spent enthusiastically conceiving of and bringing to life the business plan and brewery design with the team at Century, only to have these dreams derailed by Delta city council in May of 2019. After having our original proposal turned down due to the project's large size and scope, we decided to take a step back to analyze our situation and explore our options. Of course, then came the pandemic and our expansion plans fell by the wayside, as survival became top of mind. 2020 was a difficult year for everyone, there’s no doubt about it, but with the passing of our Father and president Greg Mills, the year took us by surprise and had us fighting to find our footing in an unfamiliar space. All the while we did manage to keep faith in the Southlands project and ultimately decided to go back to the drawing board and work with Century Group again to reimagine ourselves as a part of the development.
Fast forward to the summer of 2021 and we are in full design mode as we eagerly await development and building permit approvals from the City. Our new plan is a total of 8600 sq ft which includes a 2600 sq ft brewery and 6000 sq ft restaurant and retail space, which will be situated right in the heart of the Southlands Market Square. This new iteration currently meets the City bylaw requirements and will not need to undergo rezoning or public hearings. The stars seem to finally be aligning for Four Winds Southlands. Progress is being made and although the projected completion date won't be until sometime in 2023, we are certain the wait will be worth it!
For more information on the Southlands Community Project, head to the links below: