Vadnais Heights' residents wish for brewery comes true
October 1, 2021
When neighbors balked at a proposal to build apartments on city-owned land, Vadnais Heights leaders decided to let residents devise a plan for the property.
Members of a citizen task force said they wanted a destination brewery or distillery and community gathering space on the 3-acre site near the shores of Lake Vadnais. More than a year later, the Ramsey County suburb's experiment with a new, populist form of community development appears to be working.
Big Wood Brewery signed a purchase agreement with the city this fall with plans to move its taproom and production operations from downtown White Bear Lake to the new site.