Tie & Timber expansion set in city’s model commercial hub

Tie & Timber Beer Co. LLC, a brewery and beer garden on the north end of the Rountree neighborhood, is adding a 10,000-square-foot two-story building to its existing campus.

Co-owner Curtis Marshall said the expansion, which began Oct. 28, will more than triple indoor seating for the business while also adding a full kitchen.

An existing storage facility that fronts the 1451 E. Cherry St. business has been demolished to make way for the new build.

“Right now, we’re heavily reliant on our outdoor beer garden to drive revenue, especially in the summer,” Marshall said. “But, when the weather shifts, so does our capacity. This new facility will mitigate that risk, allowing us to welcome guests year-round without depending so much on the whims of Missouri weather.”

Marshall said the building also would allow Tie & Timber to serve food.

“With the addition of a full kitchen, we’ll be able to offer a menu centered around fresh ingredients and scratch-made recipes,” he said. “It’s something our guests have been asking for, and we’re excited to finally bring it to life.”

The kitchen will operate within the Tie & Timber brand, Marshall said.

He added that the business currently employs 13, but a staff of 30-35 is expected upon project completion in about a year.

The new building will have a different look than the existing structure.

“The original brewery will continue to be our workhorse, maintaining its industrial vibe with locally curated art pieces adding character and warmth,” he said. “In contrast, the new building is designed to be a work of art in itself, featuring key elements of industrial brewing as a nod to our roots.”

The building that is being replaced has been used as office space and storage since Tie & Timber’s founding – essentially a cost center, Marshall said.

“That’s obviously not ideal for a prime location that should be driving revenue for us and contributing tax dollars to the city,” Marshall said. “More importantly, the current building is an eyesore, and with all the exciting growth and development around us, it feels like a missed opportunity.

“Having our guests walk past a dilapidated building on their way in just didn’t sit right. Our guests deserve better – and honestly, so does our neighborhood.”

Parking concerns
As Springfield Business Journal broke the details about the business’ expansion plans, readers reacted in online posts to express both enthusiasm and concern.

While some cheered the expansion, some neighborhood residents raised the issue of parking. On the Rountree Neighborhood Association Facebook page, a closed group, one resident asked, “Why was there no conversation about T&T’s expansion, while reducing their current parking and exploiting Pickwick and Weller [avenues] to provide parking for them?”

Marshall acknowledged that there will be a temporary loss of some of his business’ on-site parking during construction, though that will return when the project is complete.

“Ample on-site parking is a luxury that few businesses in Rountree enjoy, and it’s part of what makes our neighborhood so walkable and bike-friendly,” he said.

In a Sept. 23 City Council meeting where plans for the expansion were introduced, Councilmember Abe McGull, a resident of Rountree, said the city should be mindful of increased foot and vehicle traffic as the commercial area of the neighborhood expands.

“As we begin to see the expansion of Cherry and Pickwick, which is economic development in that area, I hope we are thinking about expanding the traffic calming devices we use in that location because that is expanding the footprint,” he said.

Tie & Timber, opened in 2018, has come to serve as the anchor of the Rountree commercial district surrounding the intersection of Pickwick Avenue and Cherry Street, with a mix of established and new businesses like restaurants Imo’s Pizza, Ott’s Pasta and Tea Bar & Bites Bakery & Cafe, package store and bar Cherry Picker Package and Fare, and retailers Pickwick & Cherry and Howler Bike Co.

A model hub
The Rountree commercial district is frequently cited by city leaders as an example of successful mixed-use development within a residential neighborhood.

Forward SGF, the city’s comprehensive plan, calls for growth and reinvestment in neighborhood commercial hubs, and it offers Rountree’s commercial hub as a paragon of successful small-scale, locally owned businesses in what it calls a “charming, pedestrian-friendly setting.”

“These types of small businesses should continue to be supported throughout the city,” Forward SGF states.

Even so, at the Oct. 21 meeting of Springfield City Council, a rezoning to general retail from single-family residential for the Sunshine Street and National Avenue corner of the University Heights neighborhood was nixed by a council vote. That development has been criticized for proposing a commercial incursion into a fully residential historic neighborhood.

Peggy Wise, president of the Rountree Neighborhood Association, said what works well in Rountree may not be as easy to apply in other areas of the city.

“For us, it works well, in part because we’ve always had a business district,” she said.

As an example, the Pickwick Place commercial building, a historic Spanish mission style structure in the 600 block of South Pickwick Avenue, dates from circa 1925.

“Our business district has grown rather organically in what has gone in there, and we’ve been pretty embracing of it,” Wise said. “Some neighborhoods don’t have that, so trying to put something in there could be more of a growing pain than it has been for us.”

Rountree has an urban conservation district plan – something Forward SGF promotes for all neighborhoods – and through it, Wise said, many development issues are worked out in advance.

“These are things we’ve already addressed,” Wise said. “It’s a good thing to have that type of planning on the front end.”

The plan included public engagement and feedback from neighborhood residents over a six-year period, she added.

“We had the luxury of doing much more public engagement than if you’re just surprised with a project,” she said. “That’s a thing that works for us that could work for other communities.”

She added that most development in the Rountree business district is by owners who live in the neighborhood.

“They also have that same desire to keep something that they would like to live next to, so we certainly have some advantages,” she said.

The neighborhood plan points to parking and pedestrian safety in the commercial district as outstanding issues with the neighborhood. It warns that business expansion may bring new consequences to consider and prepare for.

“Parking, traffic and other land use implications will need to be considered as each proposal is evaluated,” it states. It recommends amending the UCD to require off-street parking when redevelopment occurs and notes additional parking could be accommodated by private agreements between business and property owners to develop and share parking.

Marshall said the addition, like the taproom, is being designed by Arkifex Studios LLC and built by H.C. Rogers Construction Group LLC. OakStar Bank is the banking partner. Other members of the professional team are Porter Construction Services LLC, Conway Duncan Inc., Pinnacle Design Consultants LLC and J&M Engineering LLC, he said.

Marshall declined to disclose the investment amount, but said the expansion is a significant step.

“It’s a commitment to expanding our brand, elevating the guest experience and investing in the future of the neighborhood we love,” he said. “We’re not just building a new facility; we’re building on everything we’ve achieved so far, and we’re excited to see it come to life.”

Marshall owns Tie & Timber with Jennifer Leonard.