Durham Distillery to open city centre site in 2020

English gin and vodka producer Durham Distillery has launched a crowdfunding campaign to complete construction of its new site after previous plans were scrapped.

L-r: Jon Chadwick, owner of Durham Distillery, and head distiller Jess Tomlinson

The spirits producer has signed a 10-year lease to open its new distillery in Prince Bishops Shopping Centre in Durham city centre. The project will be close to £1 million (US$1.3m) worth of investment for the city.

Durham Distillery had originally planned to open its new distillery within the impending £30m (US$38m) Riverwalk complex in Durham city centre last year. However, “severe delays” meant the move was scrapped.

Jon Chadwick, owner of Durham Distillery, said: “Prince Bishops approached us earlier in the year as there were severe delays out of our hands with the riverside location we’d hoped to relocate to.

“Since signing the lease there has been a lot of work with our architects and designers to create something really special for Durham, and the fit out is well underway.

“The new setting not only benefits from a central location with passing traffic to and from the cathedral, it’s larger and means we can be really imaginative when it comes to things like visitor experience and scope for expansion in the future. We’re bringing a completely new offering to the retail scene at Prince Bishops.”

Work has already begun on the new 5,000-square-foot site, which will undergo a full refurbishment. The site, which is expected to open by early summer 2020, will also include a shop and events space.

‘First for the region’

In addition to producing gin and vodka, the new distillery will begin production of the “first” whisky in the North East of England.

A fundraising push on Crowdfunder will offer people the chance to invest in the distillery for as little as £10 (US$13) for an investment certificate that will provide discounts on tours and products from the new distillery for one year.

Bottles, cases and casks of Durham Whisky can also be purchased, which will be ready once it has been matured for three years.

In September 2017, Durham Distillery received £250,000 (US$323,825) from an investment group to help increase its production capacity and support the launch of its first whisky.

Jess Tomlinson, head distiller, added: “The move not only means we will have the space to increase production of gin and vodka, we can also start production of the first run of Durham Whisky.

“It’s a first for the region which we hope the city will get behind and help to support through our Crowdfunder where the final packages are now available. We’ll also be going into development of some other new products after the move.

“We’re not just building a distillery, we’re creating a visitor attraction to bring something different to the city’s leisure experience.

“Durham Distillery will be a hub where local people and tourists can learn about and taste real honest spirit, shop local, attend and host functions, and come along to our own calendar of events. There’s so much potential and we can’t wait to open the doors to people next year.”

The distillery is also preparing to open a Christmas pop-up shop opposite its new premises from 23 November.

The crowdfunding campaign will run until Thursday 19 December 2019 on Crowdfunder.