A request from Three Empires Brewery Co. to operate a brewery on the corner of 5th Street and Main Street was approved by Frisco’s planning and zoning committee during a Feb. 28 meeting.
“I am excited about this,” Commissioner Brittany Colberg said.
Local breweries are a relatively new concept in Frisco. The zoning ordinance prohibiting breweries, wineries and distilleries from operating within the city was only amended in spring 2020 by a committee of city officials.
Three Empires Brewing Co. owners Mandalyn and David Wible have been working on bringing their brewery to Frisco since 2021.
The Wibles' brewery was originally slated to move into the proposed Main Street Food Hall in 2022 but had to relocate after the food hall’s owner chose to terminate the project.
“Once that deal fell through, we started looking around the downtown area and then obviously found this location,” Mandalyn Wible said. “We've been working on it for quite some time.”
If approved, the brewery will operate inside the historic downtown Ford Building, which already hosts a retail store and fitness center, according to meeting documents.
Notices regarding the brewery were sent to nearby property owners, but city staff received no responses, according to meeting documents.
One resident did speak at the public hearing portion of the Feb. 28 meeting to express concerns about available parking for the brewery and surrounding areas.
Downtown parking is generally not an issue due to the availability of nearby parking lots that multiple businesses can share, Transportation Planning Manager Joel Fitts said.
“It's not really critical that the parking be directly adjacent to the business in the downtown area,” Fitts said. “You're expected to maybe walk a couple of blocks.”
A planned parking garage for the Fourth Street Plaza will also serve as a way to replace street parking downtown and should ease any parking concerns, Fitts said.
A traffic comparison was included in the Feb. 28 presentation and claimed the weekday traffic generated by the brewery would be less than a restaurant but more than nearby retail spaces, according to meeting documents.
“We're very, very excited to be part of the downtown community,” Mandalyn said.
If approved, Three Empires Brewing should open this summer, Mandalyn said.
A final decision on the brewery will be made by City Council members at their March 7 meeting.
