Woodinville's Historic Hollywood Tavern Reborn

WOODINVILLE, Wash., July 25, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- A well-known and much-loved landmark property in the heart of Woodinville's wine country will soon become the new home for the Northwest's top distillery and the site of a reimagined roadside tavern featuring local farm-fresh cuisine. Seattle-based real estate company Point32 has teamed with Woodinville Whiskey Co. and the Huxley Wallace Collective, founded by restaurateur and street food pioneer Josh Henderson of Skillet fame, to create a new destination property at the "bend in the road" near the Ste. Michelle winery and Redhook Brewery.

For more than 65 years, the Hollywood's red neon "TAVERN" sign has welcomed visitors to Woodinville. While the sign will remain, the property will get a major facelift from Graham Baba Architects: a new production distillery, larger tasting room, and "Barrel Loft" event space for Woodinville Whiskey, and an expanded tavern space for Executive Chef Angie Roberts'  "wine country farm cuisine." A large outdoor patio will provide an applewood rotisserie grill, a fire pit, and horseshoe pits for catering, special events, and private parties held in the distillery building.

Built in the 1920s, the "Hollywood Corner Service Station" was converted to the Hollywood Tavern in 1947. Point32 purchased the property in 2012 with the intention of preserving the site's agri-industrial character and bringing together a destination distillery and tavern where folks could tour, taste, dine, relax, and celebrate. "Right away, we all knew the direction this special old place wanted to go," says Point32's Matt Kellogg.  

"Not only will the new distillery allow us to quadruple production capacity to meet the growing demand for our products, it also offers a more interactive tour experience and private event space with catering by the Hollywood Tavern," notes Woodinville Whiskey co-founder Orlin Sorensen. Under the mentorship of David Pickerell, former 14-year Master Distiller for Maker's Mark Bourbon, Woodinville Whiskey has quickly become one of the state's top craft distilleries, combining select Washington-grown grains and fresh Cascade mountain water in its handmade production process. Hard-core fans have been known to line up overnight for the company's new releases, and are awaiting its annual "Harvest Release" later this fall.  "We have a very exciting product coming to coincide with the opening of the new distillery," says Sorensen.

This new roadside tavern fulfills Huxley Wallace Collective's vision of bringing "handcrafted food and spaces to beautiful Washington State," says Henderson, who started Skillet Street Food in a vintage Airstream trailer six years ago. Today, the Skillet family includes an award-winning diner with a second on the way, two successful food trucks, a thriving catering enterprise, the Skillet Counter, and its legendary Bacon Jam line. Roberts' menu will include such tasty items as house-ground classic cheeseburgers on buttered, toasted milk rolls, spit-roasted local meats, and house-made pasta. The inspiration for catering is simplicity, with authentic technique and ingredients: Think whole roast pigs with salsa verde, whole-grain salads with roasted artichokes, seasonal house-made soft-serve ice cream (yes, kids will be welcome in the dining room and patio), and whiskey flights. Somersaults will be highly encouraged—and not just from the kids.

For more information on the project partners, please visit:
www.point32.com
www.woodinvillewhiskeyco.com  www.facebook.com/woodinvillewhiskeyco 
www.thehollywoodtavern.com  www.facebook.com/huxleywallace

SOURCE Woodinville Whiskey; Hollywood Tavern