LOCKPORT, N.Y. (WKBW) — For close to 10 years Big Ditch Brewing Company has been at the forefront of Buffalo's craft beer industry and now the brewery that has become a staple of the Western New York community is looking to expand into Lockport.
Matt Kahn, the President and Co-Founder of Big Ditch Brewing Company, tells 7 News that he is planning to open a second taproom in Lockport "sometime during the middle" of 2024.
The new taproom, which will also include a small brewery, will be located inside a large portion of the historic post office building that sits at One East Avenue right in the heart of Lockport's business district.
"Why Lockport? There's just so many reasons," said Kahn, "The most obvious, and the one that's probably the most important, is the connection to the Erie Canal. 'Big Ditch' is a reference to the construction of the Erie Canal, which was an ambitious project, but really changed the landscape of New York State when it was completed."
It's that connection to the Lockport community that Kahn believes makes the new location a perfect fit. After all, the new taproom will be within walking distance of the Erie Canal.
"It's a great opportunity and an excellent connection to the area," said Kahn, who added that the new Lockport taproom will have two floors, a private event space, and an outdoor patio.
The new location will also include a small brewery and will be situated right across the street from the Historic Palace Theater and the Popular Scripts Cafe.
"We're very excited," said Nicole Kong, who is the owner of Scripts Cafe, "I think that Lockport really needs something like this. It's going to bring people in from the surrounding areas, bring people down from Buffalo, and they can see what it has to offer."
Big Ditch Brewing Company opened its original taproom in Downtown Buffalo in 2015 with the hope of providing a great place for customers to enjoy local beer and food.
"It's become more successful than I think we really could have imagined," said Kahn.
That success has allowed Big Ditch Brewing Company to expand the distribution part of the business. Big Ditch beers are now available throughout New York with recent distribution pushing into parts of Pennsylvania.
"We are one of the ten largest independently owned craft breweries in New York State. We're actually not even known as a microbrewery anymore, we're a regional brewery,"
And Kahn says he's excited to now make the move into Niagara County as Big Ditch Brewing Company looks to the future.
"I think we are looking forward to the next step, and opening this Lockport taproom for the residents of Niagara County," said Kahn.
