By GARRET JAROS/YachatsNews
YACHATS – Cider lovers will have something to celebrate this summer as WildCraft Cider Works of Eugene prepares to open shop in the closed Yachats Brewing building by the Fourth of July holiday.
WildCraft owner Sean Kelly describes the Yachats’ opening as a collaboration between his business and building owner and former brewery operator Nathan Bernard.
The pair share a passion for permaculture and methods of natural food preservation. Bernard will not be involved in the business beyond providing some fruits and vegetables from his farm in the Yachats River valley.
“We offer an array of unique fermentations of fruits that are uncommon, ones that you don’t typically see being grown at farmers markets,” Kelly said. “We offer traditionally non-carbonated cider as well as a more modern style cider that is still going to be dry.”
WildCraft, which opened in Eugene’s Whitaker District in 2014, does not rely on additives and its ciders are sulfite-free, not pasteurized and have no sugar. In addition to ciders on tap and to-go, the Yachats operation will offer guest beers and wines as well as deli-style food and soups.
Kelly and Bernard met through farming and fishing prior to Kelly opening WildCraft and Bernard opening Yachats Brewing + Farmstore.
“We both share a passion for permaculture,” Kelly said. “We have been talking for five years about collaborative opportunities. And I am interested in supporting him.”
In the future, Kelly plans to reach out with more localized farming projects based on natural preservation and ecology – which in part means non-irrigated, non-sprayed and minimally maintained ingredients.
WildCraft Yachats will begin operations with three employees and a manager. It will be open year-round from 3-9 p.m. Thursday through Monday except on weekends when it will open at noon. Kelly is planning on a soft-opening July 3 followed by a full opening July 4.
On Wednesday the Yachats city council signed off on Kelly’s Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission request form and welcomed the new business to town.
“I think that (it) will be a very, very good fit for Yachats,” said city manager Bobbi Price said. “I think it will be wonderful to see life in that building and truly add to our economic and community vibrancy.”
The city has been working with Lincoln County building official John Rodriguez as well as Kelly and Bernard to ensure building and fire codes are met, Price said. To do that has meant adding smoke detectors and exit signs, but also building a fire wall between the original building up front, which once housed a bank, to separate it from an addition in the back built by Bernard that was never permitted by the county and did not meet state fire codes.
“After that the property owner can continue working with the county on the remainder of the building and bringing that up to code and re-establishing permits,” Price said. “But that is not part of this immediate action. They are well on their way to getting those things done.”
Rodriguez told the council Wednesday that construction is straightforward and everything is well on its way in order to have the business open and safe by July 3.
Councilor Mary Ellen O’Shaughnessy welcomed WildCraft, saying it will be an added attraction for younger visitors, and alleviate concerns from other local businesses who have said the empty building suggested the city was struggling.
“So the business owners I think will be really happy that something is happening with this building,” O’Shaughnessy said. “I think this is a great move in the right direction.”
Troubled history
Yachats Brewing + Farmstore was a popular stop for tourists and some locals, but had a tumultuous history with the city and county.
Bernard’s stepfather, Portland-based ad executive Dan Wieden bought the property in 2011. Bernard, a former homebuilder, started remodeling the old bank building in 2012, digging into a rock cliff behind it and erecting a two-story brewery building. Despite struggling to get building permits from Lincoln County in 2013, he kept working and opened the brewery July 4, 2014.
The county’s planning department, Bernard and the city have been wrestling with the issue since 2015. Because there were no approved permits, the county building official in 2015 put a stop work order or “red tag” on the building. Bernard removed the tag, left some areas open for inspections and continued work on the buildings while also offering food and beer.
In 2017, the Yachats city attorney sent letters to Bernard saying he risked having the property posted by the sheriff’s office as unsafe to occupy because he did not have building permits. But it was never enforced.
It was only in mid-2017 when Lincoln County began sending notices to Wieden that Bernard got an architect involved. Two years later, when the issue continued to drag out, the attorney for Wieden’s limited liability company also became involved.
In 2019 and 2020 a deputy state fire marshal inspected the buildings and recommended it be closed to the public. It was not. But that prompted Yachats Rural Fire Protection District administrator Frankie Petrick to send Bernard and the city a letter saying firefighters would not enter the structures if there was an emergency inside.
Wieden died in September 2022 and Bernard bought the property in October from the limited liability company.
Yachats Brewing’s OLCC permit expired in July 2023. Bernard closed the brewery last fall and laid off his brewmaster and staff. County officials said Bernard’s attorney notified them late last year that Bernard was not interested in seeking permits and the operation did not re-open this spring.
Price told YachatsNews that she reached out to Bernard in April when the business did not open for spring break and had a long conversation about its future. The timing worked perfectly for a collaboration with Kelly, who told YachatsNews he had originally thought to open WildCraft at the location last summer.
Price said she is happy to see things finally moving forward.
“From the city’s perspective, it’s really important to have a business up and running in that location,” Price said. “We’re all on the same page and they have a good plan to see this through.”
- Garret Jaros is YachatsNews’ full-time reporter and can be reached at GJaros@YachatsNews.com; YachatsNews editor Quinton Smith contributed to this story.
Will they have wine and beer?
“…In addition to ciders on tap and to-go, the Yachats operation will offer guest beers and wines as well as deli-style food and soups…”