BELFAST, Maine — A waterfront property that housed a beloved Belfast brewery is scheduled to be auctioned later this month, even as two locals try to reach a deal with the bank that would allow them to resume operations there.
Marshall Wharf Brewing Co. brewery, located on the city’s harbor, helped launch the Maine craft beer craze after its 2007 opening. But former owners David and Sarah Carlson closed it abruptly in April, along with Three Tides, the cocktail bar and eatery they ran right next door.
Portland-based Tranzon Auction Properties initially had scheduled 36 Marshall Wharf for an auction on Dec. 3, but bad weather canceled the event. The rescheduled auction is set for 11 a.m. Jan. 29.
Dann Waldron and Kathleen Dunckel, who co-own Whitecap Builders in Belfast, said Thursday that they are still negotiating with the bank that owns the 6,000-square-foot former city granary. Waldron told the BDN in November that if they reached a deal with the bank, they would move the building offsite in order to repair some structural issues, then return the building to the waterfront to reopen the brewery. They would also reopen Three Tides and find a way to utilize the two upper floors in the brewery building.
“Several balls didn’t drop when we needed it to,” Waldron, who used to work at Three Tides said Thursday. “We’re still pushing to be in the door before the auction, but if we have to go to auction, we have to go to auction.”
Ruth Lind, a Tranzon sales associate, said there has been other interest in the property.
“The types of things people have been talking about have either been a restaurant or renovating it and continuing it as a brewery,” she said.
The Marshall Wharf property, which suffered water damage from two 2019 flooding events, has an assessed value of $277,500. But assessed values do not always correlate to market values, Lind said. In order to place a bid during the live auction, participants will need to make a $25,000 deposit. The sale is subject to seller confirmation.
“The bidding will start wherever, and when it ends, the seller will say yes or no,” Lind said. “I hope that [the auction] happens and we get it sold. I hope we don’t get snowed out again — that would be horrible.”