Factotum Brewhouse won't open in Sunnyside after all; searching for a new spot

Factotum Brewhouse is the latest to suffer a setback. The sister-and-brother team of Laura and Chris Bruns had planned to open Factotum this year at 4735 Lipan Street, but they'll have to find a new location after a problem with the city's fire code made their design untenable.

See also: Factotum Brewhouse will rely on homebrewers when it opens in Sunnyside

"The city insisted that we add an additional door to the front of the building," says Chris via email. "We were willing and able to make those changes but the landlord would not allow us to make the necessary changes as it would alter the facade of the building."

"Without this front door, the tap room would only be able to have a capacity of ten people...for a 3,000-square-foot space," adds Laura.

As a result, the Brunses, who are now storing their equipment at Grandma's House, another local brewery-in-planning, will have to start their search for a spot again.

"We feel that Sunnyside welcomed us with open arms and we'd love to find another place in the neighborhood," Chris says. "That said, we have to find a location that will work for us, that will work for a brewery. We may well still end up in Sunnyside, but we might not. We're looking anywhere that makes sense for our business."

Factotum ran a successful Kickstarter campaign back in June, with the stated goal of beautifying the taproom with a glass garage door.

They brother-sister team will still try to do that at a new location, but if it doesn't work, they'll use the money for something else that "the customer can directly benefit from," Laura says. "We will be letting our pledgers know exactly where their money went, as soon as we know."

When they do open their place, Factotum will stick with its stated goal of being dedicated to homebrewers, using their recipes and giving them the chance to brew it themselves. The brewery will have a seven-barrel system where homebrewers of all skill levels can brew a beer with help from Chris and then have it served on tap and get customer feedback.