Kings County Distillery heads to Bushwick to expand

Eye On Real Estate: The new location is 15 minutes away from its Brooklyn Navy Yard home

August 5, 2015 By Lore Croghan Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Kings County Distillery is expanding beyond its Brooklyn Navy Yard home — to this building at 173 Cook St. in Bushwick. Eagle photo by Lore Croghan

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Whiskey Whiskey My Old Friend, I’ve Come To Talk With You Again.

Milk Of Mercy, Please Be Kind.

Bushwick bons vivants will be humming that old Kris Kristofferson tune when Kings County Distillery opens its second location two months from now.

The city’s oldest whiskey producer is expanding beyond its original 15,000-square-foot home at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, Eye on Real Estate has learned.

Jacques Wadler and Vincent Lopez of Kalmon Dolgin Affiliates negotiated a lease on the distillery’s behalf for 9,000 square feet at Bushwick property 173 Cook St.

The company plans to use the location for the production and distribution of whiskey — and hopes to host tastings, classes and events there like the ones it already offers at the Navy Yard.

The asking rent for the Cook Street space was $16 per square foot.

“Many of these formerly industrial properties are ideal for renewed use as a brewery, whiskey distillery or other large-scale beverage production,” said Neil Dolgin, Kalmon Dolgin co-president said.

“And 173 Cook St.’s central location and substantial square footage are perfect for the Kings County Distillery as it grows its business.”

Kings County Distillery, which was launched in 2009, was the first whiskey distillery to locate within New York City since Prohibition.

Its location at the Navy Yard’s historic Building 121 is a 15-minute drive on Flushing Avenue from the new Bushwick location, Dolgin said.

The main reason for Kings County Distillery’s expansion was its need for additional storage space for its whiskey and bourbon barrels, brokers Wadler and Lopez explained.

The Cook Street location was appealing because of the good rental price — and “the neighborhood and its inhabitants are a good fit for the additional location,” they said.

Foodie fave pizzeria Roberta’s is nearby at 261 Moore St.

The Doe Fund, the Cook Street building’s master tenant, was repped by Lauren Davis and Stephen Powers of Denham Wolf Real Estate Services in lease negotiations. Denham Wolf offers planning, transaction and project management services to nonprofit clients.

The building’s owner, Yorkshire Properties, did not use a broker in the negotiation.