Brew pub plans to takeover former NIPSCO building in Goshen

A new brewpub has been approved to start up in the Maple City. In September, the city of Goshen’s Redevelopment Commission approved plans to transform the former NIPSCO building located at 315 Washington St. into a brewery and restaurant.

For five years the city has owned the industrial brick structure, but for the past year and a half it looked for a new tenant and decided on Goshen Brewing Company.

“It’s kind of a coincidence that it’s a brewpub,” said director of Goshen’s community development department. Goshen conducted a feasibility study when it began looking for potential occupants. The results of that study indicated Goshen should consider that location for a brew pub.

The agreement the city has with Jesse Sensenig and the Goshen Brewing Company calls for a $200,000 investment in the property. Once that minimum amount has been spent Sensenig can exercise his ability to purchase the structure for $95,000.

According to Brinson, “one of the thing that Goshen is being as a destination for locally owned and unique restaurants so we think this project is a good fit for what’s already happening in downtown Goshen.”

Nearly every storefront downtown is occupied, making the revitalization of older, historic buildings a “great” option for expansion, said Brinson.

“In today’s world, financially, you couldn’t build a building of that scale and magnitude,” Brinson added.

Instead of starting from scratch Sensenig said it’s fun to imagine what the old building could become. At first the construction will require stripping away of some of the paint on the building’s exterior, then going inside to completely reconfigure usage of the space.

Sensenig plans on including the dining tables among the brewing area. He said he wants patrons to be able to see the process and what’s going on behind the scenes.

“We really liked having the ability to recycle an older building and create a really nice atmosphere from all the character that can be taken from that building,” said Sensenig. Before putting together a proposal for the NIPSCO building, Sensenig said he scouted other locations around Goshen. None of those locations he said offered the same unique characteristics as this property.

Is Goshen ready for a new brewpub? Both Sensenig and Brinson confidently said “yes.”