LONG SAULT, Ontario – The grand opening of the newest craft brewery in SDG Counties was celebrated with plenty of suds, smiles and satisfaction in South Stormont.
Lost Villages Brewery, which made a successful application to the SDG Regional Incentives Program for $45,000 in funding for building conversion and expansion, marked its grand opening with wall-to-wall customers.
The brewery, which gets its namesake from the nearby Lost Villages (lostvillagesbrewery.com) that were flooded out during the construction of the St. Lawrence Seaway and power project, offers craft beer on tap, and in cans, and also provides patrons with plenty of room to sip their suds indoors, or out on the patio.
“Lost Villages Brewery accessed grant money provided by SDG through its Regional Incentives Program. The Regional Incentives Program provides funding to eligible businesses and tourism amenities in our region to help with improvements to existing amenities, or to build new ones,” said SDG Counties Warden Carma Williams. “The end result is a state-of-the-art brewery that provides a popular local product to consumers while also paying homage to our past.”
“This has been two years of a lot of hard work and seeing it all come together with all the people here it is really special for us,” said John Wright, who along with Kevin Baker and Matt Kamm, own Lost Villages Brewery. “There’s a whole piece of history in this area that we wanted to build on, and hopefully people from far away will hear these stories and learn a little bit more about our region.”
The Lost Villages were 10 communities in South Stormont with names like Moulinette, Santa Cruz, Wales and Maple Grove that were inundated following the construction of the St. Lawrence Seaway and power project in the 1950s. The Lost Villages Museum, located on County Road 2 east of Long Sault, pays homage to these communities.
“The Regional Incentives Program is an excellent avenue for local businesses and entrepreneurs to explore when they are considering making changes to an existing business or tourism amenity – or opening something new,” said Tara Kirkpatrick, SDG Counties Manager of Economic Development. “We are looking forward to the 2023 Regional Incentives Program intake, where more businesses can access this popular initiative.”
For more information on the Regional Incentive Program, visit sdgcounties.ca/economic-development/grants-and-financing/sdg-regional-tourism-grant.
