May 5, 2021

Glacial Lakes Distillery is moving ahead with its plan for a new downtown location.

The Watertown business is under construction with a taproom at 200 S. Main Ave.

“They started to rip up the basement for plumbing, and then they’ll fill that back in and can move our stairs … and will really start after that,” said Quentin Robertson, who co-owns the business with founder Phil Klein.

The plan is to turn the 1,100-square-foot space into a modern, industrial-looking place similar to a craft brewery, he said.

“It will be very inviting.”

Renderings by Koch Hazard Architects

Glacial Lakes began producing vodka in 2014 and now produces gin, light and dark rums and brandy, with new additions of bourbon and whiskey.

“Things have picked up, especially since we announced we’re coming here,” he said.

The hope is to open the taproom in July. Along with the spirits, the plan is to offer charcuterie.

There will be multiple outdoor seating areas, so “we’ll be able to capture at least a month or two of it,” Robertson said of patio season.

Glacial Lakes also still is planning to move the distillery operation from Watertown to Hartford and is starting to work toward buying the land and moving ahead with construction, he said.