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One year ago, Penticton still didn't have its Ironman back, Andrew Jakubeit was mayor and The Mule, arguably the last true nightclub in the city, had just closed forever.
That last bit likely wasn't lost on anyone Saturday afternoon at Slackwater Brewing. Not only was it the Slackwater grand opening, it also marked one whole year since The Mule disappeared and the new owners of 218 Martin Street first went into demolition mode.
It was a casual affair Saturday with several local politicians on hand, including the new mayor, and a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Beforehand, Slackwater GM Liam Peyton reminisced about never-ending renovations and his first two-and-a-half months in business.
"Today it's been a year since we got the keys and started tearing out carpet and probably 90 percent of our lives have been here since," he said. "So it's the end of the summer after a whole year of destroy, destroy, destroy, build, build, build, beer, beer, beer."
"But we've got a good local following now. We had a really good tourism season and we're looking forward to the future."
With the venue's soft opening period coming to an end, Peyton also acknowledged a key lesson learned. Never underestimate the potential popularity of a cavernous downtown brew pub.
"We were a lot busier than anticipated. Our food sales were 45 percent over target. So we got rocked," Peyton admitted.
"And when you're that far over target, some things aren't always going to be perfect. And we own and accept that. But being too busy is kind of a good-ish problem."
Now Slackwater's getting ready for its first winter. It's traditionally a tough time for local pubs and eateries, but Peyton says he plans to keep the place rocking through the Penticton off-season.
"We have a broad demographic coming through here. Young families are one of our biggest demographics, and we expect that to continue."
"And we're not just a bar and a restaurant. We're a wholesale distribution company too," he added. "We're selling our products as far as Whistler now. So we have the two sides to the business."
"We'll be changing up our seasonal menu in mid-October. And we'll be continuing our live music program, and adding other fun programming during the evenings. We're exercising a bit more of a table service model as well."
He's thrilled with the reception this far from other like-minded businesses in the area.
"It's fantastic. We all talk to each other. We work well together. It's small business supporting small business," said Peyton.
"I'm extremely excited about Black Antler opening (a block to the west). We've been flying through Jason's soda (Jason Cox of People's Soda, which shares the Black Antler premises) since we opened. Poor Jason has to bomb it over on a dolly two or three times a week."
"And we're doing the same thing now too. They're selling our beer at Black Antler, and every other day we throw a keg on a dolly."
"It's a zero emissions beer delivery run."