The Buckman neighborhood continues its fast and furious transformation with the new addition of West Coast Grocery Company (WCGC). A new grocer, you ask? Nope—just a clean, bright, corner spot that’s brewing some damn tasty beer.
The long-awaited brewery and pub, due to open in July, sits kitty-corner across from Revolution Hall in the old Luxury Bread Building, which has undergone a full (and lengthy) renovation. The extra time has proven to be a good thing for WCGC’s founder/owner Charlie Hyde, as he was able to settle on a more fitting name than the brewery’s previous, short-lived incarnation as Bodega Beer.
Lifelong Pacific Northwesterners might already be familiar with the West Coast Grocery Company name, which has a long history here—as an actual grocery warehouse. Hyde’s great-great-grandfather founded the Tacoma, Washington-based business back in 1891, and multiple warehouses from Salem to Seattle distributed goods to stores throughout the area all the way up until 1985.
A recent tour of the new brewery reveals a glimpse into its namesake’s past—including yellowed packaging behind the bar with the original West Coast Grocery’s “AMOCAT” brand on them. A large mobile of shopping carts hangs from the ceiling near the restrooms. And the visage of great-great-grandpa Charlie himself might also make an appearance on one of the walls in the future.
But this is a beer place, right? Hyde’s philosophy is simple: “I just want to do something I love, and do it well.”