Flesk Brewing moving to Barrington Ice House Mall

Flesk Brewing will be newest tenant at the Barrington Ice House Mall after the village board approved the Lombard-based brewery's plan to move into the village at its meeting Monday night.

William O'Brien said he and his brother James O'Brien are excited to move out of their current space in Lombard, which they founded together in 2011.

The new brewery will feature a large tap room with a bar and seating for around 75 people. William O'Brien said the current location couldn't fit more than two or three visitors.

"The mall has a lot more character than the other buildings we'd seen," O'Brien said. "It's way more unique than your typical new brewery construction."

The brewery will occupy the eastern portion of the mall, which has been vacant for more than five years. The brewery will have its own entrance.

O'Brien said they outgrew their Lombard location about a year ago. He said when they were scouting for new locations they were drawn to Barrington.

"We kind of fell in love with it," O'Brien said. "It's a great community and has been very welcoming to us, even before we approached Peggy" Blanchard, the village's economic development director.

Blanchard said the village worked quickly to recommend several locations in the village to the O'Brien brothers and then helped them with the application process.

"We really took that project through from start to finish in 15 weeks," Blanchard said. "Just working together as a team with all of our staff to get this great business in town."

Jennifer Tennant, the assistant director of development services for the village, said under the plan approved by the village board, Flesk will be allowed to serve wines, cider and some hard alcohol in addition to its beer. Tennant said the brewery will not serve food, but the owners have talked about possibly partnering with local restaurants to deliver in food for customers.

O'Brien said the owners hope to be operational sometime in November.