Sandusky gives out grant for bourbon distillery

SANDUSKY — Once completing the deal, they toasted to their mutually beneficial partnership on tap for downtown Sandusky. During a recent public meeting, city commissioners backed a $100,000 grant in local economic development funds to support the creation of Everwild Spirits. The total investment equals about $2.7 million, according to Huron-area spouses Rick Lynch and Gia Gennari-Lynch. "We sought to get assistance from the city because material costs have increased so significantly, and we are running 30% over initial estimates," said Rick, who's eyeing a spring 2022 opening for his new business on Hancock Street. It'll be located on Hancock Street across Bowling Green State University's college campus. Jonathan Holody, the city's community development director, worked with the couple on this grant application. "Everwild Spirits will be a year-round destination that will bring visitors to Sandusky," Holody said. "Bourbon tourism is a growing trend across the country. This project will put Sandusky on the map for bourbon enthusiasts." Breaking down the bourbon business Rick offered up some more details, both in a personal and professional sense, about Everwild Spirits, what he labels as a "start-up craft bourbon distillery." This would mark Sandusky's first distillery of any kind in its history, Rick said. It follows a trend of craft distilleries rapidly emerging nationwide in recent years. In the simplest sense, distilleries differ from breweries as they produce spiritous liquor and not beer. • The location: "All distillation will occur at our downtown distillery and tasting room, located at 212 Hancock St. The Everwild Tasting Room will be open to the public and will offer 3,000 square feet of bar, lounge and tasting area. There will be seating both indoors and out, and we plan to operate year-round. We will offer a select menu of food, with what we like to call before-and-after, appetizers and desserts." • The timeline: "We have been preparing to launch this business for the past two years and are now planning to open for business in April 2022, assuming the buildout of our distillery and tasting room stays on schedule." • The hours of operation: "We are planning to be open Wednesday through Sunday, 4-10 p.m., initially. We will evaluate demand and are prepared to open earlier or add additional days if the business supports it." • The local connection: "My wife, Gia Gennari-Lynch, was born in Sandusky and attended St. Mary's. Her parents and three of her four brothers still live in Sandusky as well as much of her extended family. I was born in Cleveland, grew up in Norwalk, attending St. Paul. We were married at St Peter & Paul (Catholic) Church in Sandusky. We now live in Huron Township, and our five children attend St. Mary's grade school and high school." • The deep roots: "My great-great-grandfather, John Kennedy Lynch, was a distiller and rectifier in Oswego, New York, from 1892 to 1920. I grew up hearing about his legendary whiskey from my grandfather, John Kennedy Lynch III. His most popular products were Lynch's Golden Wedding Whiskey and JKL & Sons Bourbon. His business was destroyed when prohibition went into effect in 1920. It has been a long-time dream of mine to restart this family business." • The family ties: "My wife is a co-founder and our chief flavor officer. Gia is a former flight paramedic for University Hospitals. She has been a firefighter and paramedic since 1996. She currently works part-time for the Huron Fire Department. Gia is also an exceptional cook: Her fettuccine alfredo and smoked-gouda mac and cheese are legendary. While we will not be operating a full restaurant, Gia will be responsible for our before-and-after menu and, more importantly, all of our bourbon flavors and finishes. Jude Gennari is our vice president of operations. Jude is Gia's brother. He was born and raised in Sandusky, attending St. Mary's. He has worked in the restaurant and hospitality industry for over 30 years, most recently as a manager of Cracker Barrel, on Milan Road, since 2004." • The offerings: "Everwild Spirits will be classified as a distilled spirits manufacturer. We have already received our federal distilled spirits permit, and we are currently obtaining our permits from the great state of Ohio. We will focus on distilling whiskey and aging it for four years or longer to be bottled and sold as small-batch craft bourbon. The public can come inside to order food and drinks. We will have a full-bar service, so we will serve a variety of other beer, wine and liquor in addition to our own spirits. You can come inside for a tasting, a mixology class, a tour of our distillery or just to hang out for the evening with friends for a drink." • The process: "Our process will be a grain-to-glass approach, and we will purchase over 60,000 pounds of local corn, rye, wheat and barley from Ohio farmers for our distillation process. We will age, blend, finish and bottle our whiskey 100% in-house. Obviously, this means it will be a few years before our own whiskey is ready for bottling. In the meantime, we will use existing-aged bourbon stock that we enhance with our own unique Everwild blends and finishes. While these won't be distilled in Sandusky, they will be blended, finished and bottled here."