Henderson Booze District proposed as an ideal drinking destination

It’s a perfect cocktail.

Take a distillery, add a winery and, if all goes as planned, mix in the last missing ingredient — a brewery.

After everything is combined, Henderson should have what business owners are calling the Booze District.

“The three of us have the opportunity to create something unique to the area,” said George Racz, owner of the Las Vegas Distillery.

Within about 200 yards of each other on Eastgate Road is home to the Las Vegas Distillery, 7330 Eastgate Road; Grape Expectations, 7360 Eastgate Road; and soon, CraftHaus Brewery.

“We are hoping to have it open by late fall,” said Wyndee Forrest, co-owner of CraftHaus.

Already, each business has been brainstorming the future of that area, which would take the three businesses and the adjacent open space next to Eastgate Road and launch a monthly festival with food trucks, entertainment and arts and crafts.

The owners think the event could rival other larger events such as First Friday, the downtown arts festival, or Vegas StrEATS, the downtown Las Vegas food truck festival.

“We are looking at something like every third Saturday,” Racz said.

The companies foresee this happening in the next few months.

Racz said the property’s landlord is open to the idea. He added that city of Henderson officials are expected to tour the facilities and hear the proposed ideas. Racz hopes he can get the city on board.

“This could be a tourist destination,” Racz said.

While developing a group event and synergy, each business is still working on new advancements.

CraftHaus recently reached its Kickstarter goal of raising $20,000: $6,000 for the business licence, $7,000 for the pilot brewing system, $4,000 for the walk-in cooler and $3,000 for marketing.

Husband and wife business partners Dave and Wyndee Forrest launched their fundraising campaign May 3 to help finance the business and make their dreams of operating a brewery come true.

They hope to sign a lease.

“(The landlord) has been very patient waiting for us,” Wyndee Forrest said.

The space is designed to have brewing classes and a lounge area for the community to come together and enjoy beers.

“There won’t be gaming or a restaurant,” Wyndee Forrest said. “We don’t want it to distract from the beer.”

She said the company had exhausted its efforts looking for a space in downtown Las Vegas when it decided to take a tour of the Las Vegas Distillery.

“And George welcomed us with arms wide open,” she said. “He told us we were the missing piece and that the circle was now complete.”

Like the Forrests, Racz had similar dreams. He moved to Henderson in 2008 to open a distillery, creating vodka, rum, moonshine, whiskey and his own creation, Rumskey — a combination of rum and whiskey.

However, the company was set back due to Nevada’s laws making it impossible to distribute directly from the distillery.

In 2012, in a way to be creative, the distribution company Booze Brothers Beverage opened specifically to distribute Racz’s product. The company is fenced off in the back of Racz’s warehouse — a space leased to Booze Brothers — allowing him to transport the bottles into Booze Brothers Beverage before it ships to retailers.

Racz is waiting for the Assembly Bill 153 to pass the Senate, which would change the language that distilleries could distribute and make it easier for Racz to distribute directly. He testified on behalf of the bill May 24.

If it passes and the law goes into effect July 1, the distillery will be able to offer a nighttime lounge where people can drink.

Before CraftHaus arrived, there was already a working relationship between the Las Vegas Distillery and Grape Expectations, the winery that allows people to make their own mixtures. It opened in its new space on Eastgate Road in September.

When people come in, the employees tell people about the distillery and vice versa.

Grape Expectations is also making its own progress. The company is planning to offer winemaking twice a year.

In the next few weeks, it expects to get a shipment of 47,000 pounds of Chilean grapes.

“It’s the first time we will be able to offer a South American wine,” said Mike Schoenbaechler, the general manager.

As much as the company is expanding by itself, it hopes to collaborate to see the whole area grow.

“The synergy is up,” said KJ Howe, “professor of yeastology” at Grape Expectations.

In five years, the group foresees the spot growing as an attraction.

“San Diego used to be a beach destination,” Wyndee Forrest said. “Now it has been rebranded.”

She said it now focuses on attracting people with its breweries.

“Clark County is the largest consumer of alcohol per capita but the lowest producer of it,” she said.

She thinks each business is working to change that.

Howe added that the vision is for the business to keep working together.

“I hope we aren’t recognized as individuals but as a group,” Howe said, “something where we have tour buses from the Strip coming down here.”

The commercial space could even open way for restaurants and other businesses that could enhance the area, Schoenbaechler said.

The establishments already had a taste of what the partnership could look like when they hosted an event May 18.

The Las Vegas Distillery opened its doors to allow CraftHaus to have a community event to help create awareness of its Kickstarter campaign.

Not only did the companies combine their business, they also mixed their spirits to create concoctions, using alcohol from the distillery and beer from CraftHaus — the beer was made in the Forrests’ home brewery, which has served as a temporary space.

“It was very positive,” Racz said. “People were happy. Or maybe they were just ‘happy.’ ”

For more information on Grape Expectations, visit grapeexpectations
lasvegas.com.

For more information on the Las Vegas Distillery, visit lasvegasdistillery.com.

For more information on CraftHaus Brewery, visit crafthausbrewery.com.

Contact Henderson/Anthem View reporter Michael Lyle at mlyle@viewnews.com or 702-387-5201.