Why not beer here?

Lara Wilkinson and the other members of the Cloquet Economic Development Authority are tired of seeing Cloquet residents drive up and down Interstate 35 to spend money at places like the Moose Lake Brewery, or at Bent Paddle in Duluth.

Standing under a banner bearing the slogan "Got beer? Bring it here," more than a dozen community leaders raised empty purple plastic party cups in a toast to future business partners that could bring new life to Cloquet's historic business district.

"Let's keep those experiences and those dollars here in our community. Let's bring business to our own local brewpub, cidery or taproom," Wilkinson said. Demand for such a business is high in Cloquet, she said.

And there is space for it, she said, in the "beautiful and amazing historic West End, an area that's just beginning to bud with opportunity."

Members of the EDA and Cloquet Area Chamber of Commerce, along with Community Development director Holly Hansen, held a press conference Thursday, June 27 on the lawn west of the First National Bank Plaza building at 207 Avenue C, to solicit such businesses.

Hansen and the EDA members issued a request for proposals, specifically seeking a skilled and qualified applicant to open "an authentic brewery/cidery taproom and/or brew/cider pub business, non-chain preferred."

Such a business, they hope, would serve as a catalyst to the West End, which is Cloquet's most historic business district, the first district rebuilt after the Fires of 1918, the one with its historic buildings mostly intact, and the area with the most vacant storefronts.

"Around the country, the addition of breweries and cideries are changing areas of downtowns that have been forgotten or disinvested into over the years," Hansen said. "These are the coolest, most historic and beautiful buildings in our city."

It is, Hansen said, a part of the city with vast "untapped" potential.

Not coincidentally, inside the 100-year-old bank building at the site of last week's press conference sits 5,500 square-feet of space ready and waiting for such a business. Once home to the short-lived but very popular Avenue C restaurant, the retail space still features a massive, custom-built bar, built so solidly of American black walnut and Brazilian cherry that the banks couldn't get it out after the business folded in late 2017. The tin-type ceiling remains, as do the murals that covered two walls. It also has all the support spaces that type of business would need: bathrooms, kitchen, storage and lots of parking out back.

"I'd love to see a brewery or distillery open up in this space," said owner Zach Wehr, who bought the First National building in 2005 after Potlatch moved its remaining offices out and the building sat vacant for a time. Since then, he has done "hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of work" to the building, which features the large retail space on the east side, and space for smaller shops and businesses along hallways throughout the rest of the three-story building, which is still marked by a large "Ave C" sign on the roof.

On the table from the EDA is an offer for up to $10,000 in grant money toward building improvements, and a low-interest-rate gap loan (to help make up the difference between commercial lending and actual project cost) of up to $175,000 to go toward purchase or renovation of a building. It doesn't have to be the First National Bank Plaza building; it could be any building in the area west of Highway 33 defined as the West End business district.

Hansen pointed out changes in the West End that bode well for future development. Longtime local florist Skutevik's recently relocated its business to 305 Broadway. The Common Ground coffee shop and deli, in the historic Chief Theatre building, is seeing increased traffic and business. The long-closed and blighted Smokies building - where utilities have been turned off more than a decade - recently sold.

There are other businesses making a go of it in the West End. Wood City Nutrition, which sells healthy shakes and teas, does a brisk business most days. The Pine Knot News and its art gallery draws customers to the area, as do the Ghost Dog tattoo shop, the Rock Place and other small retail and service businesses like attorneys, realtors and insurance brokers.

But none of them can fill up the parking spaces like the Avenue C restaurant could on a weekend night.

Hansen is hoping the EDA and the city can help spark an era of revitalization in the West End, citing as a ray of hope the current boom in Duluth's Lincoln Park, which has gone from a ghost town to a boom town with the addition of restaurants featuring locally grown food, breweries and a local craft district.

Wilkinson hopes a business will come that can offer Carlton County residents - and maybe even some Duluth folks - the kind of experience that can draw people out of the house.

"We may no longer leave the house to get that box of Kleenex," she said, referring to the decline of malls and growth of online shopping, "but we do leave and we leave for experiences. In the realm of experiences, online retailers can't compete with our local venues."

With the money and assistance offered by the city, there is a real opportunity for a business with "the right character and right energy, she said.

"To the biz owners and entrepreneurs out there, I say, let's talk," Wilkinson said. "Cloquet should be your next home and we are here to make that happen."

Proposals are due by Aug. 31. Anyone interested in finding out more is encouraged to call or email Holly Hansen at 218-879-2507, ext. 4 or [email protected].