Update on Old Towne

Old Towne Brewing Co. owner says he'd like to rebuild
Posted by Marian Accardi July 05, 2007 11:31 AM
Old Towne Brewing Co. owner and master brewer Don Alan Hankins said this morning he wants to rebuild the microbrewery that was destroyed by fire overnight.
Hankins didn't know the extent of damage to the equipment in the building, including four large fermenters. About $5,000 worth of beer that was to be shipped today was in the walk-in cooler.
"I'd like to keep Old Towne Brewing Co. going, I just don't know where," he said.
The business at 214 Holmes Ave.. represents "a couple of million dollars" worth of investment, said Hankins, and "a lot of blood, sweat and tears."
"I'm seeing all this" destruction, Hankins said, "and all I can think about is my cat." His cat, Hops, lived at the brewing business and hadn't been found as of this morning.
City building inspectors determined Thursday morning that the building is structurally unsafe, said James Tabor, the assistant fire marshal. The city's Public Works was called on to bring in heavy equipment to remove the east wall of the building and any fallen beams, he said.
"The fire marshal's office will conduct an investigation after it's safe," Tabor said. "This is going to be an all-day process, and we may be here into the night. We're trying to save the front wall," said Tabor.
Jimmy Ivey, district chief with Huntsville Fire & Rescue, said firefighters were battling the blaze inside the building for about 30 minutes when they noticed that the air-conditioning units were sagging. Firefighters were pulled from the building, and about five minutes later, the roof collapsed.